Noel Grealish (Galway West, Progressive Democrats)
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Question 185: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the details of pilot projects identified by National Fisheries Management Executive to facilitate the exploitation of surplus salmon; if he will confirm that to permit the harvest of salmon even where stocks are abundant would run contrary to the objectives and spirit of the Government's decision of 24 March 2006 to fully align with scientific advice and the precautionary principle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18573/06]

John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, I announced on 24th March that I had decided to adopt the recommendations made to me by the National Salmon Commission (NSC) in relation to the total allowable salmon catch for 2006. This will involve reductions in the quota available to both commercial fishermen and anglers in 2006. In doing so I have also reaffirmed the Government's commitment to fully align with the scientific advice provided on the management of the wild salmon fishery by 2007.

I understand that the National Fisheries Managers Executive and the Marine Institute have agreed an expansion of the ongoing Genetic Stock Identification (GSI) project during the coming salmon fishing season, in order to determine the tendency of certain identified inshore fisheries to impact on multiple stocks. This is in line with the scientific advice provided by the NSC's Standing Scientific Committee that mixed stock fisheries pose particular threats to the status of individual stocks and that fisheries operated in estuaries and rivers are more likely to fulfil national requirements and international obligations. In this regard, as the Deputy will appreciate, it is important that decisions to close or to keep open individual inshore commercial fisheries on the basis of their propensity to capture multiple stocks, particularly stocks that are below conservation limits, would be made on the best available scientific information.

I am advised that recent advances in genetic analysis have enabled assignment of salmon caught at sea or inshore to their home rivers with a high degree of probability. It is proposed to collect scale samples from salmon taken in inshore commercial fisheries (drift net, draft nets and fixed bag nets) and to use these genetic techniques to assign salmon to their home rivers. This DNA profile information will be compared to genetic data contained in a river specific juvenile baseline database, currently being developed in two ongoing studies, the Atlantic Salmon Arc Project (ASAP) and the Marine Institute's GSI programme.

The Marine Institute is currently collecting genetic material from commercial fisheries operating at sea, particularly offshore, to determine the river composition of the salmon catches nationally and at district level. I am advised that the objective of the additional pilot work is to answer questions about stock composition at the sub-district level targeting specific inshore fisheries and in many cases individual licence holders in particular locations, thus determining the river composition of those identified inshore fisheries on a site-specific basis.

I understand that if the results of genetic analysis show that some estuarine drift net fisheries exploit individual salmon stocks or salmon stocks from a number of rivers in home estuaries, these nets could continue to operate provided the rivers entering those estuaries were above conservation limits.

It is also proposed to undertake a study on the survival of salmon caught and released by different methods of capture in a number of Irish rivers. This information would be very valuable in providing confidence in the practice of catch and release in Irish rivers. The study will also be important in promoting a proper code of practice for catch and release. Catch and release of salmon by anglers in Ireland will, I understand, become increasingly important as a conservation measure in the coming years.

These projects should yield important information about the commercial and recreational fishery to guide policy towards restoring salmon stocks in threatened catchments while permitting the harvest of salmon where stocks are abundant.