Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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128. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 113 of 16 April 2014, if he is satisfied that the opening of the rivers specified in that question for the catching and killing of salmon is fully justified by reference to the surplus in their salmon conservation limit as confirmed in his response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20702/14]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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As I stated in reply to Question No. 113 of 16 April, Ireland manages salmon stocks on an individual river basis. This management is carried out by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), the State Agency with statutory responsibility for inland fisheries under the 2010 Inland Fisheries Act. The individual river management strategy is based on the fact that each of Ireland’s 143 salmon rivers has its own unique stock of salmon which migrates to sea as juveniles and returns to the same river in adulthood to spawn and create the next generation of fish exclusive to that river.

IFI is supported in its management of salmon stocks by a statutorily based independent Standing Scientific Committee on Salmon (SSCS) comprising scientists from IFI, an Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Loughs Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Marine Institute, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI- Northern Ireland) other State bodies and third level institutions. This independent scientific committee assesses and offers advice on the predicted stocks status in all 143 Irish salmon rivers each year against that rivers conservation limit using the most recent five years of available data from the catchment. The conservation limit is the number of adult salmon required on each river to maintain a healthy population - the stock level that maximizes the long-term average surplus.

Harvest fisheries (recreational or commercial) are only allowed on individual river stocks which are shown to have a surplus of fish over their conservation limit, based on the most recent five year data on upstream salmon runs in individual rivers. In the case of the Newport system, SSCS advice is given separately for one sea winter and multi sea winter salmon stocks. This policy, based on the conservation imperative, has been applied to the rivers referred to by the Deputy.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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129. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 113 of 16 April 2014, the reason for the apparent contradiction in his answer where he states that the information requested by this Deputy going back from 2006 to 2013 is not readily available and yet he presents the data for the period from 2007 to 2013 but not the data from 2003 to 2013 as requested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20703/14]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I understand that a comprehensive schedule of research carried out by IFI for the period 2007-2013 has already been supplied to the Deputy. The written response to Question No 113 of 16 April last, contained a typographical error and should have read “I am advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland the information requested by the Deputy going back from 2006 to 2003 is not readily available”, whereas the response, in error, referred to the lack of data for the period 2006 to 2013. Any confusion caused by this typographical error is regretted and I trust this clarifies the matter.