Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

Like all Members, I welcome this Bill. The creation of a single national body that will include the functions of the present Central Fisheries Board and the seven regional fishery boards appears to be a logical progression. I have some understanding of the operation of such matters because I was born and reared close to the River Feale. Although I fished more in my younger days than I do at present, I still am closely connected with the fishing fraternity on that river. At one time, the River Feale was one of the better-known rivers in Europe and a thriving tourism industry was attached to it. I can recall that in the 1960s and earlier, one might have encountered five or six different nationalities at the local anglers' rest. However, the tourism aspect of fishing, on the River Feale in particular, declined due to a number of factors. Initially, this was because of an outbreak of disease in the late 1950s and early 1960s but there also were other reasons, the principal one being that not enough salmon were coming up the river to attract fishing tourists. I hope following this amalgamation and re-focusing that a river such as the Feale would be examined separately and that a proper management plan would be put in place to tap its undoubted potential.

We all thought, and may have contributed to the debate on the matter, that the banning of drift net fishing would allow salmon and sea trout back into our rivers. The first test of this was last season but it did not happen. Major questions are raised as to why salmon did not appear in our rivers last year if drift net fishermen were not taking them. I do not know the precise figure of how many they had been taking but it was fairly substantial with perhaps approximately 60,000 salmon being taken the previous year. The salmon did not appear in the River Feale. There was a late run of salmon but during the summer less salmon were caught on the River Feale than during the previous season when the drift nets were operating in the Atlantic.

There must be reasons for this and I hope they can be examined through this new structure. Is it because illegal fishing is still occurring in the Atlantic? That could be an international issue, but surely there must be an international solution to the decline of the salmon population. We can protect only our own waters but there is a bigger dimension, larger than that for which we can take total responsibility, such as the feeding grounds where the spawn go after leaving our rivers, and the fact that on their return journeys they are intercepted.

Issues also arise when salmon come into our rivers and this applies to draft net fishermen and anglers. Draft net fishermen operate in most of the estuaries in our rivers and that is a tradition that must be retained. It is in their interests also that there is a salmon population. The effect of a growing seal population on the salmon population must be examined. The effect of the heron on the salmon population must also be examined as must this issue of river management with regard to how the spawning grounds are being disturbed and, perhaps, not being adequately looked after. One salmon can spawn up to 80,000 eggs. People must be aware that if the spawning grounds are disturbed or not treated properly it can ruin an entire salmon population. There must be an overall approach with public education, responsibility and far more emphasis on preserving our salmon stock.

Placing it in an overall economic context, this is one of our greatest natural resources. I can see major potential, as previous speakers mentioned, in angling tourism. There is no about that, but the fish must be in the rivers. There are ways to protect and increase our salmon population but care must be taken.

Another aspect is the overall supervision of our rivers. I recently heard that there are four water-keepers to manage the entire River Feale, its tributaries and the other rivers in the catchment area of the former Shannon region. It would be impossible for them to look after the length of river they are supposed to look after and protect the habitats they are supposed to protect. It is hit and miss. Anybody poaching knows the river very well and it is nearly impossible for the bailiffs to police the river properly. Their movements are fairly well monitored and more people will have to be employed to better police the rivers. There are four or five very active clubs that police their own parts of the River Feale but in many cases it is very difficult for them to police the river where they may know the people who may be involved in poaching or not obeying the rules. There must be outside supervision and that is why the issue of water-keepers or bailiffs is so important.

I welcome the Bill as the previous situation was very unwieldy, with people duplicating work and different experts in different regions. This focus will certainly help in a major way. However, major issues exist including the decline in the salmon population when we thought it would increase because of the ban on drift net fishing. The National Salmon Commission will be amalgamated into this body. It is very important that the Minister of State immediately examines this matter, which is in his brief. There was an expected increase last year but in the River Feale there was a decrease and we must examine the reasons for this.

This is an area of real potential. As a country we must examine our natural resources and how and where we can attract angling tourists.

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