Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, to the House.

Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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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.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for submitting this Commencement Matter for discussion. I acknowledge the important role that fishing and angling play in Ballina's tourism. IFI is the State agency responsible for the protection, management and conservation of Ireland's inland fisheries and sea angling resources. It manages salmon stocks on an individual river basis, as each of Ireland's salmon rivers has its own genetically unique stock of salmon. IFI is supported in its management role by a statutorily independent standing scientific committee, SSC, for salmon comprising scientists from IFI, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Loughs Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Marine Institute, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute of Northern Ireland and other State bodies and third level institutions.

The SSC estimates the number of salmon likely to return to each river in the next fishing season based on estimates of salmon runs over the most recent five years. Each river has an individual conservation limit, which is essentially the number of salmon required to spawn to maintain a healthy population. If the estimate of returning salmon is above this limit, salmon from that individually genetic river population may be harvested commercially or by rod and line. The SSC's independent advice to lFl underpins the management decisions and advice of IFI as regards all aspects of the angling and commercial season for salmon on an individual river basis.

In 2006, the Government affirmed its commitment to manage the wild salmon fishery in line with the scientific advice from 2007 onwards in the interests of conservation of stocks. International best practice for the management of Atlantic salmon requires the adoption of the precautionary approach and the cessation of indiscriminate mixed stock fisheries. Since 2007, the harvest of salmon by commercial and recreational, that is, angling, means has been restricted to those stocks of rivers that are meeting their conservation limits.

Fisheries are only considered in rivers where the estimated returns are above the conservation limit for the river. I am advised by IFI that a risk analysis is undertaken on any estimate of returns expected to be above the conservation limit. The individual river management strategy is based on the fact that each of Ireland's salmon rivers has its own unique stock of salmon that migrates to sea as juveniles and returns to the same river in adulthood to spawn and create the next generation of fish exclusive to that river. Fisheries are only considered in rivers where the estimated returns are above the conservation limit for each river. In that regard, it is not biologically or environmentally sustainable to redistribute genetically distinct surplus stocks outside their native rivers due to the conservation imperative to avoid an impact on or a dilution of existing stocks that are above their conservation limits.

Stocks within individual rivers that have a surplus are distributed among the established stakeholders. For rivers on which there is both angling and commercial fisheries, the surplus is distributed via a district committee on which anglers and commercial fishermen are represented. This distribution only happens where there is a harvestable surplus.

The model and processes used by the SSC are recognised internationally as best practice. Delegations from a number of countries have visited IFI and the SSC to examine and seek to learn from the Irish approach to salmon management. The North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation also recognises Ireland as a leader in this area.

Wild salmon is a valuable natural resource and the value of rod-caught fish to local and rural communities is substantial in terms of the benefit to the local economy from income associated with anglers staying in the locality, making purchases from tackle shops, dining in restaurants and visiting local public houses. The high value of tourism angling, highlighted by IFI and Bord Fáilte, is based primarily on participation in the activity by visiting anglers and the excellence of the local angling resource. This activity-based value was borne out in the most comprehensive study of recreational angling in Ireland ever undertaken, which was commissioned by lFl. There is no evidence to suggest that the availability of wild salmon on local menus augments the attractiveness of a local area to potential angler visitors.

At a time when salmon stocks generally have declined, the River Moy has a surplus available for harvest by rod and line. No commercial fisheries exist on the river. The Moy and the hinterland it serves are the envy of many communities whose rivers have no harvestable surplus and where no salmon can be retained by anglers or no fishing is permitted. There are still a number of commercial salmon fisheries in Ireland, including in Mayo. These are primarily draft net and snap nets, and each of these legal fisheries provides sustainably harvested wild salmon available for purchase by restaurants and hotels.

All rod-caught fish are blue tagged so that anglers can retain the fish, but the sale of rod-caught salmon is expressly prohibited by law for good reason. Salmon are an important wild fish resource. In this regard, anglers are permitted to retain up to ten salmon personally in a year and pay a fee of up to €100 for the licence and tags. These fish cannot be sold on the basis that incentivising the sale of rod-caught salmon creates a commercial rod fishery that would be counterproductive to the long-standing conservation imperative supported by all anglers who are involved in the activity for sport and leisure reasons. Facilitating sale of rod-caught salmon from a specific river could augment the potential for an increase in illegal salmon fishing, putting pressure on rivers that do not have a surplus.

The State's efforts are concentrated on seeking to recover the stocks. A return to increasing sales of wild salmon, other than those from fisheries scientifically assessed as commercially sustainable, would unravel much of the State's investment of €30 million in the salmon hardship scheme, which is aimed at conservation of stocks.

The rod catch on the River Moy has declined in recent years. In 2016, it was 5,775 salmon compared with 7,075 in 2015. Having regard to the negative trend generally in the returns of wild salmon to Irish rivers, a precautionary approach is required and, as such, it would be unwise and irresponsible to introduce any measure or derogation that could lead to a significant increase in angler exploitation of the wild salmon resource.

Salmon angling as an activity is a valuable tourism resource. Any proposal to transform the activity into a commercial fishing venture and encourage anglers to catch their "quota" is not ecologically sound. Wild Atlantic salmon is listed as endangered and is generally protected by responsible anglers as well as fishery protection staff. As the Minister of State with responsibility for the sector, I am anxious to ensure that salmon are protected in all rivers and that no measures are put in place that would have a deleterious effect on the salmon stocks in any river, including the Moy.

Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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I have given this issue fresh impetus because Bord Iascaigh Mhara, BIM, appeared before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and informed us of the science involved. Even under the precautionary approach, there is a surplus. By default, IFI gets to say what happens to all wild fish, but that was not envisioned by the report. Previously, the National Salmon Commission advised on quotas for fishermen and processors each year when there was commercial fishing. IFI has a certain view on tourism. I do not know why Fáilte Ireland branded Ballina the salmon capital of Ireland if anglers already knew it was there. There is a tourism pull and we have built many festivals around it, but one cannot get salmon on the menu. They are caught in the River Moy.

The report, which was worked on by Professor Tom Collins from Maynooth, the former Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Mr. John Malone, and Mr. Padraic White of the IDA, called for a model to be devised for the distribution of surplus on a regional and national basis that would involve stakeholders like the tourism sector, fish processors, Government representatives and anglers making decisions. Let it not just be done by IFI. There is no conservation issue that will not be taken into account. We must do this. It is for the public good. Taxpayers' money has been spent. I call on the Minister of State to take action, review the report and do what makes sense, that is, allow wild salmon to be available on menus in the River Moy catchment area.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I will allow the Minister of State to respond briefly. Usually, there are only eight minutes for a Commencement Matter, but we have already used 13 minutes and another matter must be discussed afterwards.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I apologise for that. I have read sections of the report, including its executive summary. The report was commissioned in 2006 in advance of the ban on drift net fishing. It anticipated that there would be a large surplus for distribution, but that surplus has not arisen. For the first couple of years after the 2007 enactment of the drift net ban, our river stock increased. Unfortunately, there has been a reduction since then. The figures that I cited-----

Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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Only in what has been caught. Some 15,000 to 20,000 is the surplus according to BIM and the standing committee.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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No. The rod catch on the River Moy has declined in recent years.

Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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That is different than a surplus.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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In 2016, it was 5,775 salmon compared with 7,075 in 2015. This is all based on science.

Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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Yes, but that is a different issue to the surplus.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Allow the Minister of State to respond.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The 2006 report's expectation has not been realised because the number of fish returning from the Atlantic has been reduced due to predation, global warming and other factors. The report anticipated when the driftnet ban was enacted that there would be a surplus but this has not been realised. I will ask officials from IFI to give the Senator their more professional assessment of the situation. I accept the report is ten years old. While I would like to see wild salmon on the menus of all our restaurants-----

Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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I am not asking for that.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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-----that can only happen if there is an increase in the number of salmon returning from the Atlantic to all our rivers. IFI follows best international practice in the conservation of our salmon stocks.

Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister of State not follow the report and put together a model for redistribution of surplus?

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I will ask IFI officials to discuss the matter with the Senator.

Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael)
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It is not IFI but the Minister of State who should discuss it.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Michelle Mulherin, I could write a thesis on the whole area. I was a Deputy when it all went through.