Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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166. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the status of regulations surrounding extending public and private commercial salmon fisheries for inland areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33198/16]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations, made pursuant to Sections 69 of the Inland Fisheries Act 2010, provide for the management of Ireland's wild salmon and sea trout fishery by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). Specifically, the Regulations provide for the quotas of fish that can be harvested by commercial fishing engines and rod and line from those rivers identified in the Schedule to the Regulations.

The Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations are revised on an annual basis, taking account of advice from Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), the Standing Scientific Committee for Salmon (SSCS) and any submissions received from the 30 day public consultation.

I will be commencing the 30 day public consultation for the 2017 Regulations later this month in order to facilitate a suite of new secondary legislation regulating Ireland’s wild salmon and sea trout fishery being in place for 1 January 2017.

In 2006 the Government affirmed its commitment to manage the wild salmon fishery in line with the scientific advice from 2007 onwards in the interests of conservation of stocks. International best practice for the management of Atlantic Salmon requires the adoption of the precautionary approach and the cessation of indiscriminate mixed stock fisheries.  Since 2007, the harvest of salmon, by commercial and recreational (angling) means, has been restricted to those stocks of rivers that are meeting their conservation limits.

The individual river management strategy is based on the fact that each of Ireland’s 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. Fisheries are only considered in rivers where the estimated returns are above the conservation limit for the river.

The SSCS is a statutorily independent committee comprised of scientists from IFI, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the Loughs Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Marine Institute, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (Northern Ireland), and other State bodies and third level institutions.  The SSCS provides independent advice to IFI as regards the annual individual stock assessments for Ireland’s wild salmon rivers.  This independent scientific advice underpins the management decisions and advice of IFI as regards all aspects of the angling and commercial season for salmon on an individual river basis.

The model and processes used by the SSCS are recognised internationally as best practice. Delegations from a number of countries have visited IFI and the SSCS to examine and seek to learn from the Irish approach to Salmon management. The North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) also recognises Ireland as a leader in this area.

The commercial (draftnet and snapnet) season commences in May each year and conservation measures for the fishery (including the determination of the number of licences available) will be introduced in advance of the season under the Control of Fishing for Salmon Order and associated bye-laws.