Salmon buy-out plan to be costed

A new statutory agency aimed at preserving Ireland's salmon stocks is to investigate the feasibility of a proposed multi-million euro compensation scheme for drift-net and draft-net fishermen.

Minister of State for the Marine Pat "the Cope" Gallagher has asked the National Salmon Commission, which held its first meeting yesterday, to estimate the cost of a buy-out package for commercial salmon catchers.

Stop Now, a group campaigning to end drift-net fishing, said such a scheme would cost about €25 million to €30 million.

However, Mr Gallagher estimated it could cost up to three times this much, based on figures from a similar scheme in the northeast of England.

Mr Gallagher was speaking following the publication of an Oireachtas committee report recommending a range of measures to save Ireland's rapidly declining salmon stocks.

The Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources called for greater monitoring of fish stocks in streams and rivers as part of a new "single stock" management approach.

It said local officials should be given the technology to identify whether stocks had fallen to dangerously low levels in particular locations, thus enabling them to introduce emergency conservation measures.

However, a spokesman for the department said its initial advice was that it would be "extremely expensive" to install fish counters at all rivers, as recommended by the committee.

Stop Now, an umbrella group representing angling interests, criticised the Minister for referring the committee's report to the new salmon commission, saying Mr Gallagher was using the report "to once again long-finger urgent decisions on the drift-netting question". It also criticised the report for failing to call for a comprehensive ban on drift-netting.

Campaign group chairman Niall Greene said it was determined to see an end to drift-netting and "our campaign will intensify over the coming weeks".

The group is planning, among other things, a "mass rally of anglers" at the Fianna Fáil Ardfheis in Killarney, Co Kerry, from October 21st.

Political wrangling continued yesterday at the publication of the report, following a call this week from the PDs for a ban on drift-net fishing.

Opposition parties accused the PDs - described by Labour TD Tommy Broughan yesterday as a "less useful endangered species" - of political opportunism.

However PD senator John Dardis said his party's concern about salmon conservation was genuine, adding the PDs had a policy against drift-netting since 1999.

Eamon Ryan (Greens) said the Minister had just six months to act as the next batch of fishing quotas would be decided in April.

"The salmon is the litmus test for how we treat our environment," he added.

Committee chairman Noel O'Flynn (FF) welcomed the Minister's decision to refer the report to the commission. "I have no doubt the Government will act to ensure the survival of the species".

The report received a mixed response from angling bodies.

David Magill of the Creeslough Anglers Association in Co Donegal said a "complete approach" had to incorporate the question of whether salmon stocks had been damaged by seals and other wildlife.