Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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102. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when his officials in 2007 were drafting the Lough Conn and Lough Cullin (Conservation of Brown Trout) Bye-law No. 827, 2007, whether the now defunct North Western Regional Fisheries Board (NWRFB) provided him and his Department officials with validated scientific data to show that rod and line angling was having a direct and measurable impact on brown trout stocks in Loughs Conn and Cullin (River Moy SAC), and if Department officials used any scientific data to ensure that the said bye-law was in compliance with the requirements of Regulation 31 of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 94 of 1997); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44653/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Lough Conn and Lough Cullin (Conservation of Brown Trout) Bye-law No. 827, 2007, was submitted to my Department as a part of a range of measures for consideration at the request of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board (NWRFB). The sole purpose of these measures was the conservation of the brown trout stocks in the region. At that time the NWRFB had indicated to my Department that brown trout stocks were very low in Lough Conn and Lough Cullin and in this regard prescribing that the minimum size of trout which could be taken increase from 10 to 12 inches and the bringing forward of the close season from the 12 October to the 1 October would assist in the rebuilding of the stocks of the Brown Trout in those locations.

Prior to the introduction of Bye-law No. 827, 2007, my Department sought scientific observations from both the Marine Institute and the Central Fisheries Board. While both parties supported the proposals, the Marine Institute referred to an investigation carried out in the 1980s which showed that a slot limit rather than a size limit was likely to be more effective in boosting spawning success in trout stocks. The Central Fisheries Board, in response to that observation advised that the trout stock structure had changed significantly in the intervening years particularly since the onset of the eutrophication problems and the explosion of cyprinid stocks. The Central Fisheries Board further advised that there were significant numbers of trout (up to 2.5 kgs in weight [approximately 20 to 30 inches]) in these lakes and, for that reason, a 12 inch size limit was considered more than adequate. The Marine Institute concurred with these views and both bodies, on foot of their scientific analyses and judgement, recommended the introduction of the Bye-law in the interest of trout conservation for Lough Conn and Lough Cullin.