Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 329: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the percentage of salmon/trout tags returned by commercial fishermen; the percentage returned by anglers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6459/06]

John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The management of the wild salmon and sea trout tagging scheme is an operational matter for the Central and Regional Fisheries Boards.

I am advised by the Central Fisheries Board that the database used to manage the issue of tags used under the scheme is not configured to record the number of tags returned to the fisheries boards. The database is optimally configured to give information on the salmon and sea trout catches rather than details of returned tags.

Each year some unused tags are returned by commercial fishermen to fisheries officers and these may be reallocated, if required. The logbooks returned by fishermen record the catch and, therefore, the number of tags used. The CFB publishes full details of the harvest compared to the total allowable catch in its annual publication, Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Fisheries Statistics Report.

Each year unused tags, which are unique to that season, are returned by anglers with their logbooks — these are never reallocated. The Central Fisheries Board advises that 51% of licensed anglers returned tags in 2004, the latest year for which figures are available.