Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 804: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to grant licences to driftnet fishermen who did not avail of the compensation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15302/10

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The primary motivation in aligning the management of the wild salmon fishery with the scientific advice and the introduction of the appropriate regulations to cease mixed stock fishing is the conservation of the wild salmon stocks. It is important to afford every protection to the remaining salmon stocks and to clearly prioritise conservation over catch in order to fulfil obligations under the Habitats Directive.

It is not possible to relax the conservation measures other than where river stocks recover and it is established from the results of the scientific analysis conducted by the Marine Institute in conjunction with the Central Fisheries Board that significant numbers of fish destined for other rivers are not intercepted. It should be possible, in those circumstances, to exploit the identified surplus in rivers, bays and estuaries by all appropriate methods, within the constraints permitted by the Habitats Directive. It is not envisaged that drift netting in the open seas will be licensed in the future, due to the indiscriminate nature of such a fishery and its impact on rivers' stocks not meeting their conservation limits.