Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 12: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if, in view of a meeting (details supplied) he will confirm the existence of an agreement detailing the right of net fishermen to resume commercial drift and draft net fishing should requisite conservation levels be met; and the rights they will have if they choose not to accept the buy out in view of the fact that a deadline of 21 December 2007 is rapidly approaching. [25899/07]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The Standing Scientific Committee of the National Salmon Commission has advised that stocks of salmon in the river Fergus, a tributary of the Shannon, are below conservation limits. For this reason, no killing of salmon by any method was permitted during the 2007 season. The Shannon Regional Fisheries Board and the Marine Institute will monitor the stocks in developing a management plan for the river with a view to identifying the extent of the recovery, if any, arising from the cessation of the harvest of salmon and any stock rehabilitation works undertaken.

There was no agreement of the nature referred to by the Deputy, on foot of a meeting between the previous Minister of State and this group. He did advise, however, that in the future event that stocks recover in the river Fergus and it is established from the results of the Genetic Stock Identification project that significant numbers of fish destined for other rivers are not intercepted within the river, it should be possible to exploit the identified surplus by all methods but within the constraints permitted by the Habitats Directive. A condition of acceptance of payment under the Salmon Hardship Scheme is that the recipient will not apply for a commercial salmon fishing licence in the future.

Any future issue of commercial salmon fishing licences will be limited to those who have not availed of the hardship scheme and will recognise, for those licence holders who are unable to fish because of the closure of a river on conservation grounds, the year 2006 as the most recent year for fishing in determining the order of priority for the allocation of licences. According to legal advice, salmon fishing licences are issued annually and there is no automatic entitlement to them. They cannot be transferred, traded or sold. No property right exists in them.

I would like to emphasise that the Government's primary motivation in its decision to align future management of the wild salmon fishery with the scientific advice and introduce the appropriate regulations to cease mixed stock fishing, is the conservation of the wild salmon species. It is vital to afford every protection to the remaining salmon stocks and to clearly prioritise conservation over catch. The current imperative is to maintain stocks above conservation limits or, at the very least, to halt the observed decline.