Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 and 72 together.

The Government's primary motivation is the conservation of the wild salmon species, which has long been regarded as one of Ireland's most prized fish. It is vital to afford every protection to the remaining salmon stocks and to clearly prioritise conservation over catch. The current imperative must be to maintain stocks above conservation limits or at the very least halt the observed decline. If we do not take action now, the relentless decline in stocks will continue, leading to the inevitable demise of wild salmon and the loss of a valued cultural, recreational and economic resource.

International best practice for the management of North Atlantic salmon requires the adoption of a precautionary approach and the cessation of indiscriminate mixed stock fisheries. These are the recommendations of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Moreover, if we do not end mixed stock fishing in 2007, the European Commission will undoubtedly proceed in its action against Ireland under the habitats directive. On the other hand, we can expect a reputation bonus from neighbouring countries if we proceed on the proposed course.

In future, the harvest of salmon by any means will be restricted to those stocks of rivers that are meeting their conservation limits. This means there will be no indiscriminate capture of fish. Commercial fishing and recreational angling can continue only on the scientifically identified exploitable surplus. The Government has decided in the circumstances to introduce a hardship scheme for commercial fishermen and others severely affected by the curtailment of the wild salmon fishery on the lines set out in the independent group's report. As the Deputy will be aware, the independent group was appointed to examine the implications of alignment with the scientific advice for the commercial salmon fishing sector in 2007 and beyond. As part of its remit, the group made recommendations to address any financial hardship that may be experienced by the sector. The approach it adopted in determining the hardship payments was robust and convincing.

In its report, the group noted that the level of hardship likely to be experienced would vary both in extent and scale. Taking all factors and available information into account and noting in particular that there is no legal obligation on the State to provide compensation where it is imposing management measures that are fundamentally in the public good, the group proposed to provide a measure of relief to each individual in line with the level of hardship likely to be experienced and recommended that relief should be based on the recent catch history of the individual licence holder from 2001 to 2005.

The Government accepted the recommendation of the independent group and determined that the level of payment should be based on the average net income per salmon in the commercial fishery for the past five years, that is from 2001 to 2005. This income calculation was based by the group on the average price obtained per fish per year and the costs incurred by fishermen. Each individual licence holder who applies to the fund is set to receive six times his or her average catch multiplied by the average net income per salmon. I believe this is a fair and reasonable allocation and does not need to be modified. An additional fund of €5 million will be available for a community support scheme to aid the development of those communities where the impact of the cessation of drift netting will be hardest felt and to provide alternative employment and economic opportunities for those affected.

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