Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I apologise to the house for the Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Gallagher, on whose behalf I am taking this debate.

The Minister of State relies upon the advice of the National Salmon Commission and the national fisheries managers executive in determining the terms of the wild salmon and sea trout tagging scheme which sets out annual district quotas for the commercial salmon catch. He does not receive advice on this matter from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea as suggested by the Deputy. The National Salmon Commission is an independent statutory body established under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1999 to assist and advise the Minister of State on the conservation, management, protection and development of the national salmon resource. In particular, it advises on the national wild salmon and sea trout tagging scheme regulations. The commission includes representatives of the commercial fishing sector, the angling sector and other relevant stakeholders.

The National Salmon Commission is advised in its work by its standing scientific committee, which includes scientists from Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Central Fisheries Board, the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Loughs Agency and the Marine Institute. The standing scientific committee advice is formulated each year in accordance with the latest guidelines on fish stock assessment from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

On 30 November 2004, the standing scientific committee presented its preliminary recommendations to the commission on the precautionary salmon catch advice for the 2005 fishing season. At that time, the scientific committee's preliminary advice recommended that the total number of salmon to be exploited by all fishing methods in 2005 should not exceed 122,305 fish. This advice was updated to a figure of 124,571 fish when the final catch statistics report for the 2004 season became available from the Central Fisheries Board towards the end of January 2005. In the meantime, the preliminary scientific advice was considered by the national fisheries management executive from a fisheries management perspective. It submitted its advice and recommendations to the Minister of State on 14 February regarding salmon conservation measures and salmon quotas for 2005 and beyond.

The national fisheries management executive has recommended that the total catch of wild salmon in 2005 should not exceed 173,854. The national fisheries management executive advice also includes recommendations for a suite of conservation measures that should be introduced in the fishery. It believes that if these measures are introduced in 2005, a provision of 27,500 fish should be sufficient for exploitation by anglers this year. With this figure in mind, the national fisheries management executive recommends that the national commercial total allowable catch, TAC, for 2005 should not exceed 146,174 fish. The National Salmon Commission met on 22 February 2005 to consider the scientific and management advice available with a view to finalising its recommendations on the management of the wild salmon fishery in 2005.

The chairman, in his letter of 1 March 2005 and which the Minister of State only received today, advises that the commission was unable to reach a consensus on either the scientific or management quota proposals. However, he advises that the commission endorsed, by a majority decision, a compromise proposal that the national commercial catch of salmon for 2005 should not exceed 139,900 fish and that this recommendation is made on the basis that the commission would adopt the scientific committee's advice by the 2007 season at the latest. The chairman also reports that no agreement could be secured at the commission on the reductions in annual bag limits for anglers that have been proposed by the national fisheries management executive. As a result, he recommends that this issue should remain on the agenda for future consideration by the National Salmon Commission.

Having only just seen the advice from the National Salmon Commission for the first time today, the Minister of State will need to take some time to consider all the advice and its implications in the widest context. The Minister of State will make a decision in this matter shortly and it is his intention to publish the draft wild salmon and sea trout tagging scheme regulations for a 30-day consultation period later this month in accordance with the requirements of the Fisheries Acts. During this time, interested parties will have an opportunity to submit any objections they may have. Following the receipt and consideration of these, the Minister of State will then make a final decision on the scheme.

See this speech in context