Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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60. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if there is a fish counter in operation by Inland Fisheries Ireland for recording salmon stock on the rivers Suir, Nore and Barrow; if so, if he will release the data recorded from these counters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26850/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I am advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) that fish counters are not in use on the Rivers Barrow, Nore and Suir. Each of Ireland’s more than 140 genetically unique salmon stocks is assessed annually by the Technical Expert Group on Salmon (TEGOS) to estimate the run of returning fish to each individual river and determine if there is likely to be a surplus above the river’s conservation limit.

TEGOS use a range of data sources, such as rod and commercial catch data and catchment wide electro-fishing in its assessments. Reports from Fishery Inspectors also contribute to knowledge of individual stocks. Fish counters are a component of the assessment process and IFI considers that the 32 salmon counters in operation are a sufficient index, within the array of methodologies available, to support annual assessments.