Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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1249. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to establish an eel hardship package for eel fishermen; if so, his further plans to ensure the heritage of eel fishermen will be preserved in co-operation between fishermen and Inland Fisheries Ireland heritage fisheries tourism to ensure the knowledge, history and methods are preserved for future generations and for scientific and tourism heritage programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35141/17]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to the reply to Question No. 1022 on 13 July 2017.

The primary consideration of Inland Fisheries Ireland in the issue of public licences for eel fishing was the availability of an exploitable surplus of stock.  The knowledge and methods used by fishermen are preserved to some extent by the trap and transport operation managed by ESB under Ireland's Eel Management Plan.  Under this operation, a number of former eel fishermen are employed to catch eel and transport them around hydro-electric stations to mitigate their impact as barriers to escapement and migration.