A complete ban on drift-netting for salmon at sea and a ban on angling for salmon in a number of vulnerable rivers in the east and southeast are among the key recommendations of the report of the Independent Salmon Group established by the Government.
The Government is expected to adopt the report within the next few weeks. Full acceptance of the recommendations would involve a ban on angling for salmon in major rivers including the Liffey, the Boyne, the Barrow, the Nore and the Suir.
The report, which warns that radical measures are necessary to halt "the catastrophic decline of Irish salmon stocks", was brought to Cabinet yesterday by Minister for the Marine Noel Dempsey.
It was discussed last night at the parliamentary party meetings of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
It recommends that there should be a complete ban on "mixed stock fishing" at sea from 2007. "This implies a complete cessation of drift-net fishing or any other form of harvesting outside rivers and estuaries," says the report.
Mixed stock fishing involves fishing for salmon that come from more than one river. By definition, all fishing at sea involves the catching of mixed stock.
A hardship fund of €30 million is proposed by the group to compensate drift-net fishermen. While noting that there is no legal compunction on the State to provide compensation in a situation where it is acting for the public good, the report recommends that the public good would also be served by providing a measure of relief to those likely to experience hardship.
The report was welcomed last night by Senator John Dardis of the PDs, who said it was a complete vindication of the stance adopted by his party.
As well as banning drift-netting, the other major recommendation in the report is that angling should be banned on a number of rivers where stocks are now dangerously low. Most of these rivers are in the east and southeast.
"We are now at a critical juncture in our efforts to halt the catastrophic decline of Irish salmon stocks. It is clear to us that a radical and comprehensive new management approach is now needed. The scientific advice is unequivocal that the ending of indiscriminate mixed stock fishing at sea and the restriction on angling in certain rivers are essential parts of a national strategy to arrest this decline," says the report.
It also points to the persistent and increasingly intense pressure on Ireland from the EU to come into line with best international practice and end indiscriminate drift-net fishing.
The members of the Independent Salmon Group are Prof Tom Collins of NUI Maynooth, John Malone, former secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Food, and Padraic White, the former head of the IDA who chaired the national review of the EU Common Fisheries Policy.