John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)

It is no wonder that there is a significant degree of conflict between the commercial fishermen and anglers, given the difficulties, despite the best intentions, in regulating the angling sector. Will the Minister of State indicate how many licences were issued in 2005?

If one looks at the situation with the River Slaney in County Wexford, only 376 salmon can be fished. There are 75 draft net fishermen on that river who, in effect, can only catch five salmon. With regard to anglers, there is no control whatsoever. An angler can buy ten tags in one district and a further ten in another district. The word of the angler has to be accepted that he or she has not bought tags previously. There is no central control system. Potentially, up to 21,000 licences will be on sale this year. If that figure is multiplied by ten, that would amount to 210,000 salmon, whereas the quota for anglers is 15,000.

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