Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 287: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 368 of 8 November 2005, the position regarding his examination of all recommendations including those relevant to drift netting within the fish industry here made by the Salmon Commission in this regard. [27246/06]

John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I first announced in March last that I had decided to adopt the recommendations made to me by the National Salmon Commission 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 also reaffirmed the Government's commitment to fully align with the scientific advice provided on the management of the wild salmon fishery by 2007. Reductions in the overall fishing effort are required in order to sustain and rebuild salmon stocks nationwide.

I have also amended the Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout Bye-law (No. 797, 2004) to restrict the annual angling bag limit to 10 fish per angler for 2006. While the Salmon Commission had recommended a limit of 15 fish per angler, I believe the lower level to be necessary to contain the total harvest by anglers, given that there has been no appreciable reduction in the average angling catch over the past five years and in the interest of balanced treatment of all stakeholders. I have also introduced a new bye-law to provide for the introduction of compulsory catch and release from 1st September in 8 identified fishery districts that are not meeting conservation limits.

I recognise the considerable efforts made by the commercial fishing industry over the past number of years to build a sustainable fishery and they have endured large cuts in the quotas available to them. I realise that these reductions have caused them difficulty and that full alignment with the scientific advice will likely compound these problems. For these reasons I decided to appoint an independent group to examine the implications of the new regulations for the commercial sector in 2007 and beyond and to make recommendations on the options available to address any financial hardship that may arise.

I understand that the Group has engaged in appropriate consultation with relevant stakeholders and is expected to present its report to me in September 2006.

I have also accepted the Salmon Commission's recommendation that measures should be considered to deal with the exploitation of multi-sea winter salmon stocks, including consideration of the length of the angling season. The fisheries managers, having considered the scientific advice, will identify appropriate measures in time for application in spring 2007. The scientists will also be asked to tender advice on the management of sea trout stocks over the coming months.

The National Salmon Commission's Standing Scientific Committee has indicated 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 line with this 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.

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.

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 again on the recommendation of the Salmon Commission. 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.