Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1532. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the nature of the survey conducted to decipher that salmon stocks had been depleted to such levels that fishermen were forced to abstain from salmon fishing on the Rivers Barrow, Nore, Suir, and Slaney; the criteria of same; the locations in which it was carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30494/15]

Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1533. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will consider a re-assessment of the level of salmon stocks in the Rivers Barrow, Nore, Suir, and Slaney through the use of counters or alternative means; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30495/15]

Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1534. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will investigate the viability and feasibility of re-opening a hatchery facility at Inistiogue in County Kilkenny in an effort to restock the River Nore for salmon fishing to a level that is sufficient to allow the re-opening the aforementioned rivers for snap-net fishing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30496/15]

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1532 to 1534, inclusive, together.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is the state agency responsible for the protection, management and conservation of Ireland's inland fisheries and sea angling resources. IFI manages salmon stocks on an individual river basis as each of Ireland’s 143 salmon rivers has its own genetically unique stock of salmon

IFI is supported in its management role a statutorily independent Standing Scientific Committee (SSC) on Salmon comprising scientists from IFI, 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. Scientific and management assessments of each of the distinct stocks are carried out every year, with IFI engaged in an extensive monitoring of stock status which feed into the scientific committee's annual reviews.

The scientific committee estimates the number of salmon likely to return to each river in the next fishing season based on estimates of salmon runs over the most recent five years. Each river has an individual conservation limit (CL) which is essentially the number of salmon required to spawn to maintain a healthy population. If the estimate of returning salmon is above this limit then salmon from that individually genetic river population may be harvested commercially or by rod and line.

For rivers, such as the Suir, Nore and Barrow, where a counter is not in use, the primary index for evaluation of likely returning numbers is the recorded rod (harvest or catch and release) and commercial catch averaged over the previous 5 years. The scientific committee applies a range of rod exploitation rates for recreational fishing activity and adds the commercial catch to calculate the total run of salmon. In the case of the River Slaney, the fish counter data is used to estimate the salmon run.

In addition, information on juvenile abundance indices derived from electro-fishing surveys carried out annually by IFI is also evaluated as an indicator of stock status. This information is used primarily where new information has not been available for rod catches.

Harvest fisheries are only considered in rivers where the estimated returns are above the conservation limit for the river. I am advised by IFI that a Risk Analysis is undertaken on any estimate of returns expected to be above the conservation limit.

IFI have confirmed that, using the recorded salmon rod catch and any commercial salmon catch, the estimate of returning salmon in 2015 was below the individual conservation limits for the rivers Barrow, Nore and Suir and no surpluses of salmon was available. No salmon surplus was also available using fish counter data for the Slaney averaged over the past five years.

I am informed that IFI is currently investigating the possibility of installing a fish counter on the river Barrow for salmon stock assessment. This process will depend on locating a suitable site and acquiring all planning and other relevant permissions.

The salmon assessment methodologies used in Ireland is considered internationally as best practice with many other countries moving towards the development of similar scientific assessment models for salmon stock conservation.

As regards the issue off salmon hatcheries, IFI have advised that there are significant genetic and ecological concerns when the progeny of wild salmon reared in a hatchery environment are released back into the wild and guidelines have been prepared by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) with regard to applying the precautionary approach to any proposed stocking of hatchery reared Atlantic salmon into the wild.

There are many possible causes for decline of Atlantic salmon populations and stocking may not be an appropriate solution. IFI’s advice for enhancement of salmon stocks nationally, including the River Nore, is to continue with single stock salmon management to achieve individual river spawning targets while also supporting habitat enhancement and removal of artificial barriers to migration rather than artificial stock enhancements which have potentially detrimental genetic impacts.

Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1535. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he envisages that the estuary to the Rivers Barrow, Nore, and Suir will ever be re-opened for drift-net fishing; if not, if he will consider a voluntary buy-out scheme for current licence holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30497/15]

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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As each of Ireland’s 143 salmon rivers has its own unique stock of salmon, Inland Fisheries Ireland manages salmon stocks by individual river based on the river's conservation limit. The salmon conservation limit (CL) is the number of spawning salmon required to maintain a sustainable population and is used to indicate the number of salmon in a river system above which a harvestable surplus can be considered. Salmon conservation limits are set similarly for all of Ireland’s salmon rivers.

IFI is supported in its management role by the statutorily independent Standing Scientific Committee (SSC) on Salmon comprising scientists from IFI, 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. IFI also carries out extensive monitoring of salmon stock status which feed into the scientific committee's assessments carried out every year.

The Barrow, Nore and Suir are the three main contributing rivers to Waterford Estuary. The SSC advice for 2015 is that the Nore had a deficit of 897 salmon below CL, the Suir had a deficit of 2762 salmon below CL and the Barrow had a deficit of 9720 salmon below CL. All three rivers remain closed for harvesting of salmon. The opening of a commercial salmon fishery can only be considered if there is a suitable surplus of salmon (in excess of conservation limit) available for harvest.

Prior to any commercial salmon fishing being permitted in the Waterford Estuary it will be necessary for all the waters in the vicinity of the fishing location to be in surplus at the same time and for genetic analysis to confirm that no other stocks are mixed in the area. If genetic assessment proves that the stocks in the area are specific to local rivers only, and that analysis shows that these stocks are all above their conservation limit with a surplus available for exploitation, consideration could be given to a commercial fishery.

Any future decision on a fishery can only be taken in this context and Ireland must be particularly careful to ensure that all national and international legislation and other obligations are met in any future management regime.

I am advised by IFI that all three rivers are currently below their individual conservation limits and therefore there is no permitted salmon /sea trout fishery in the common estuary.

The Salmon Hardship Scheme closed for applications on 31 December 2007 and ceased in 2008 and I understand that all funds were expended and there are currently no plans to revisit such a scheme.