Angling tourism is in crisis and Fianna Fáil must act now tosave it, writes Niall Greene.
Anglers are not the most demonstrative bunch. Part of our passion for the sport lies in whiling away some peaceful hours on a river bank. Given the choice between a rally and a rod, I know which one we would prefer.
However, this Saturday all that will change. Anglers from across Ireland, together with colleagues from Britain and further afield, will gather outside the Fianna Fáil Ardfheis in Killarney. At the rally we will be joined by conservationists, tourist interests and members of the public. Our goal is to impress upon senior Fianna Fáil members the urgent need to take decisive action to save the Irish salmon.
There is no doubt that the very survival of salmon in Irish rivers is under severe threat. There are a number of factors that contribute to this situation, foremost among them is the Government's continued licensing of drift-net fishing off our coast. Ireland is the only EU country that persists in this destructive practice. Drift netting wreaks a terrible toll on salmon stocks. The number of salmon that survive the onslaught from drift nets and make it back to our river system dwindles year on year. Many Irish rivers are now effectively dead as far as salmon are concerned.
Angling tourism, which is crucial to the economic lifeblood of dozens of rural communities, is facing a crisis. Angling tourism has halved in the past six years. With each passing season more and more anglers, including Irish anglers, despair at the situation and travel, instead, to Norway, Russia and Scotland, where the authorities appreciate the value of salmon conservation.
Fianna Fáil remains the only mainstream political party not to adopt a policy favouring the phasing out of drift netting. The Minister of State with responsibility for Fisheries, Pat the Cope Gallagher, remains stubbornly attached to drift netting, even though members of the drift- net community itself are calling for some compensation scheme that would enable them to exit the industry.
That is not to say that Fianna Fáil members are in agreement with their Minister of State. Our organisation, Stop Now, has received significant support from Fianna Fáil members, including TDs, Senators and councillors. We are organising the rally outside the ardfheis to harness this support and to ensure the message goes to those in power in the party that the destruction of Irish salmon cannot continue.
We need an immediate halt to drift netting. No prevarication, no long-fingering - the situation is too critical. Ending drift netting is a positive decision that would be good for salmon, good for conservation and good for the economy of rural Ireland. That's the message we'll be getting across in Killarney this weekend. If this Government has learned anything during the recent past hopefully they know it is time to listen and act.
Niall Greene is chair of Stop Salmon Drift Nets Now