Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While there is a list of them, rather than going through the entire list, I stated that 26 tributaries of the Munster Blackwater were recorded with a Q-value of 4 or higher in the most recent assessment of the sites. They are all detailed for the Senator in the response. As for the main channel of the Blackwater, all sites were described as satisfactory throughout, with high and good ecological quality.

The Blackwater is an extensive catchment and salmon spawning takes place both in the main channel and in the tributaries. While tunnelling can have an impact on the production of juvenile salmonids in certain circumstances, scientific evidence on the ground is it is unlikely this is having a significant effect on juvenile salmon recruitment in a large salmon river such as the Blackwater. It also is important to note that Inland Fisheries Ireland also undertakes electro-fishing of juvenile salmon in many rivers annually, particularly those that are under pressure in respect of salmon numbers such as, for example, within the Blackwater catchment, the River Bride.

Recent electro-fishing of the Bride revealed an electro-fishing average of 18.3 fry per five-minute fishing period, which is above the threshold of 17.0 that the SSCS determines to be the requisite level for a healthy fish stock to be attaining successfully the target conservation limit for salmon. For the coming year of 2016, the SSCS estimates the Munster Blackwater will have a surplus of 3,714 salmon above the spawning requirement conservation limit of 12,024.

I hope that information is useful to the Senator. It certainly has been an education for me on the issue of salmon fishing in Ireland across 143 rivers. The Senator also raised issues that were specific to the Department in which I have responsibility, the Department of Education and Skills. He will be conscious that the junior certificate reform will allow for local courses to be developed and there will be an opportunity for teachers to use their own imagination to work with students to develop short programmes that are significant to their own areas. Certainly, for those schools along the salmon rivers, there would be an opportunity to do that.