Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the House to respond to this issue. I am aware that Inland Fisheries Ireland is against my proposition. I would like to make the case as to why this should not be its call and to ask the Minister of State to accede to my request. I come from Ballina, County Mayo. Long before the word "tourism" first came into use, angling and salmon fishing have been the heartbeat of tourism in Ballina, Foxford, Swinford and out towards the estuary at Killala Bay. As things stand, we have the best and most prolific salmon fishing river in the River Moy, where it is estimated that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 fish surplus to conservation requirements in terms of the preservation of salmon stocks. The areas I have just mentioned are visited annually by international anglers. Outside of the Arts Festival in Galway, the annual Ballina salmon festival is the biggest festival in the west. We also have a food festival and a river festival in Foxford. So much revolves around the River Moy and salmon. A national salmon life interpretative centre is being developed in Ballina, into which a significant amount of taxpayers' money and a contribution from IFI have been already invested. Without a doubt, salmon is king in my area.

Unfortunately, however, there is no wild salmon on the menus of any of the restaurants or hotels in Ballina or Foxford. We get a lot of visitors to this region, the draw being the setting, the river and salmon. At a recently held food festival local chefs from Ballina, in order to be able to serve wild salmon dishes, had to obtain salmon donations from IFI. Under current legislation, it is not possible to buy a salmon from anglers and although anglers are allowed to catch fish up to certain limits within season, they cannot sell that fish. There is no commercial wild salmon available to buy.

In 2006 an independent salmon group was convened, the report of which I have with me today. The current situation arises out of the standing scientific committee recommendation that steps be taken in relation to commercial salmon fishing to preserve and conserve salmon stocks. Arising out of that drift nets were banned. Some €25 million of taxpayers' money was paid out to ensure the cessation of commercial salmon fishing. I refer the Minister of State to the 2006 report which sets out what was to happen in regard to any surplus. It envisions that a model for the allocation of the surplus would be put in place. This has not been done to date. This is predicated on the assumption that allocation of the surplus is in the public interest as it is paid for with taxpayers' money. The current surplus is beyond what is required to conserve salmon stocks. The report recognises the cases of groups such as processors, restaurateurs, retailers and those who have traditionally accessed wild salmon from the commercial sector for a continued source of supply.It accommodates the interests of tourism, given the potential of international angling. The report calls for a model to be devised.

There are various stakeholders and interests involved, including processors, restaurateurs and retailers, but I am approaching the issue from the point of view of the tourism sector. Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, has invested significantly in traps, equipment and state-of-the-art technology on the weirs in Ballina. That equipment is well able to trap salmon. A certain number of salmon could be sold to designated restaurants and hotels, but not wholesale. The Moy catchment area would be seen as a pilot project. There would be implications for other salmon fishing rivers around the country, but given the fact that the River Moy is the most prolific in that regard, it would be a major boost to our tourism industry. I call on the Minister of State to examine the reason behind the initial banning of commercial fishing and determine a way to ensure that the new surplus is distributed fairly and for the common good.