Tá an Meastachán ataithe ag dhá rud faoi leith a mbeifear glan uathu feasta, .i. cúiteamh d'íoc le daoine a chaill slí bheatha de bharr toirmeasc ar líontóireacht bhreac is bhradán i bhfíoruisce, agus iascaireacht an Fheabhail a cheannach. Tógann an dá rud sin os cionn céad míle púnt eatarthu.
Bhéarfar faoi deara an méad airgid atá luaite sa Meastachán i gcóir airleacan le báid agus gléasra a sholáthar. Is amhlaidh atá an chóir airgeadais le haghaidh na seirbhíse seo athraithe ag an mBille Iascaigh Mhara, 1952. Pé brí méad airgid a bheas ag teastáil feasta mar airleacain tá cead ag an Aire Áirgedais é d'íoc as an bPríomh-Chiste arna mholadh sin dó ag an Aire Talmhaíochta. Sin í ciall na difríochta atá idir an dá shuim airgid atá luaite ar aghaidh G (2). Sé an fáth go bhfuil suim ar bith ar aghaidh G (2) agus G (3) i gcóir na bliana 1952-53 gurb amhlaidh a bhí ceangal ar an gComhlachas Iascaigh, sular lánscoireadh é, na suimeanna sin a chaitheamh faoin dá fhó-cheann chéanna.
Ó stop an cogadh bhí soláthar éisc ag dul i laghad ag báid na hÉireann go mall díreach. Ar an ábhar sin, is maith liom a bheith i ndon a thuairisciú go bhfuil feabhas ar an scéal. Sa gcéad sé mhí den bhliain seo bhí méadú do réir trí agus fiche faoin gcéad sa méad éisc a maraíodh le hais na tréimhse céanna anuraidh. Thug sé sin méadú do réir trí déag faoin gcéad san airgead. Tharla an chuid is mó den fheabhas sin i mí an Mheithimh seo chaite. B'fhéidir gur siocar báid níos fearr a bheith anois ann atá an deascéal seo againn; ach dá fheabhas iad ní féidir leo a dhul amach ar an domhain, agus dá bhrí sin braitheann an scéal cuid mhaith ar an aimsir, a thug an t-iasc sáthach comhgharach don tír agus a d'fhág ar chumas na mbád a dhul á thóraíocht.
I dtaobh an iascaigh intíre is féidir a rá go bhfuil airgead maith á dhéanamh ag lucht na n-eangach sna hinbhir; go bhfuil obair mhaith dá déanamh ag an Iontaobhas Iascaigh Intíre Incorportha ar mhaithe le lucht na mbreac; agus go bhfuil cúrsaí iascaigh An Fheabhail ag dul ar aghaidh go réidh socair sásúil faoi réim an Choimisiúin nua a cuireadh ar bun tamall ó shoin. Teastaíonn tuille airgid leis an gcóir chosanta ar na haibhneacha a dhaingiú, agus táthar ag tabhairt aire don scéal sin.
In introducing the Fisheries Estimate for 1952/53, it is necessary to explain the changes that have been made in the Estimate since it was published in the official volume of Estimates for the Public Services for the financial year ending 31st March, 1953. In that volume the net total of the Fisheries Estimate was given as £328,130. The net total of the revised Estimate as circulated recently to Deputies is £211,530, a decrease of £116,600. This decrease is not a reduction in the estimated expenditure on the fisheries services for the current financial year as may appear, but is due to the fact that a sum of £55,000 has been withdrawn from sub-head G (2) and a sum of £61,600 from sub-head G (3).
These sums, which represent the advances to be made to An Bord Iascaigh Mhara for the provision of boats and gear to fishermen on hire purchase and for various works of general development respectively, will be provided from the Central Fund as they are really advances for capital investment.
It will be recollected that it was specially provided at Section 18 of the Sea Fisheries Act, 1952, that the Minister may advance from time to time to the board such sums as the board may from time to time request. It will be noted that in the revised Estimate the sum of £15,000 appears under G (2) and the sum of £23,750 under sub-head G (3). These sums were advanced to the Sea Fisheries Association before the new board came into office and for that reason they still appear in the Estimate.
While the Sea Fisheries Bill, 1952, was before the House, I gave a rather comprehensive account of recent developments leading to the present position of the sea-fishing industry and I do not think that it is necessary to go over that ground again, except to repeat that it is now clear that if we are to arrest the decline which has been evident in the industry for some years past and to bring about an increase in landings and employment we must employ more efficient methods of production than heretofore. Landings from inshore waters, i.e., the waters which lie within ten miles or so off our coasts, have been declining and there is no reason to expect that the stocks of fish in these waters will improve as long as intensive fishing is carried on on the present scale by large fishing boats in the waters which lie off our coasts but which are open to the fishermen of all countries. The main line of development must, in the circumstances, be the provision of fishing boats of increased catching power and wider range of activity for our fishermen.
During the past year or two the majority of the boats issued to our fishermen on hire-purchase through the agency of the Sea Fisheries Association, which has now been replaced by An Bord Iascaigh Mhara, have been of the 50 ft. class. These boats when adequately powered can engage in all types of fishing and can go to sea with safety except in extreme weather conditions. It is not intended to limit the size of fishing boats to 50 ft. and boats of larger dimensions will be issued as time goes on. The best efforts of our inshore fishermen even when furnished with boats of the 50 ft. class, cannot be expected to maintain an adequate and regular supply of fish in suitable variety from one end of the year to the other, as it is inevitable that their activities will be curbed occasionally by weather conditions, and seasonal fluctuations in fish stocks will reduce their landings. There is room, in the circumstances, for some considerable time for boats which can visit distant fishing grounds involving an absence from home of some weeks if we are to strive to reach as early as possible the position when imports of fish will become unnecessary.
An Bord Iascaigh Mhara came into office on 24th April, 1952, and they have already made arrangements to acquire three modern fishing vessels of 100 ft. overall. These vessels will be operated by the board itself and will be sent to fishing grounds in distant waters. It is hoped that these boats will be able to stabilise supplies to some extent throughout the year and the experience gained with them will decide whether the employment of such boats by the board should be continued and expanded, perhaps, as a permanent feature of the fishing industry. I may assure Deputies that in operating these vessels every precaution will be taken to ensure that their activities will not worsen conditions for the communities of inshore fishermen scattered around our coasts and the preservation and welfare of which is a fundamental matter of policy with the Government.
As regards the general condition of the sea-fishing industry, in 1951 the total weight of landings of all sea-fish (excluding shell-fish) was 187,600 cwt. compared with 214,200 cwt. in 1950. The landings of demersal fish, i.e., fish which is usually found on or near the sea bed, showed a reduction of only 600 cwt., and in this connection it is pleasant to note that the landings of such fish by inshore boats, increased by about 5,800 cwt.; the net reduction of 600 cwt. was brought about by the decrease of 6,400 cwt. in the landings made by steam trawlers. The reducttion in landings in 1951 compared with 1950 is accounted for, therefore, almost entirely by the drop in the landings of pelagic fish (herrings, mackerel and sprats) from 94,600 cwt. to 68,600 cwt. There was a serious fall in the landings of herring which in 1951 came to 49,800 cwt. compared with 67,800 cwt. in 1950. Mackerel showed a drop of 2,800 cwt. from the 1950 landings of 19,800 cwt. while sprats fell away from 6,900 cwt. in 1950 to 1,800 cwt. in 1951.
As Deputies know, herring and mackerel are very fickle fish and there is nothing like regularity either in their visits to our coasts or the density of the shoals whenever they put in an appearance. In 1951, herring seasons at almost all the points on the coast where herring fishing is pursued were disappointing in both the summer and winter seasons. The herring made its appearance at most places but its stay within reach of the inshore fishing boats was of short duration and the shoals were not heavy. Mackerel fishing, the main centre of which has traditionally been along the Kerry coast and some points on the Cork coast, was a failure in 1951. The fish were observed to be in the outer waters but they did not come close inshore in any density.
As regards shell-fish, there was some improvement in 1951 compared with 1950 as the value of the landings increased from £87,100 to £93,600. It is not possible to give shell-fish landings by weight as some of the varieties are reckoned by number. The variety that showed the biggest increase in landings was crayfish.
As regards the catching power of the fishing fleets, the number of motor fishing boats still continues to increase steadily from year to year. In 1951, 653 motor boats were engaged compared with 622 in 1950. These figures show a very considerable improvement compared with pre-war years when the average number of motor boats in commission was only 390. The number of unengined boats in the fishing industry shows very little fluctuation from year to year; it remains pretty constant at about 2,700. The strength and efficiency of the fishing fleet is being constantly improved by the issue of additional craft through the medium of the hire-purchase scheme operated heretofore by the Sea Fisheries Association, and now by An Bord Iascaigh Mhara. As an indication of the efforts being made to meet the needs of our fishermen in the matter of more efficient fishing boats in the shortest possible time, I may mention that An Bord Iascaigh Mhara has now four building and repair yards in operation. As well as building as many boats as possible in these yards in addition, of course, to any repair work that may be necessary, orders are placed with boat-building firms in this country and occasionally outside it.
During the period from the 1st April, 1951 to the 31st March, 1952, 14 fishing boats of 50 ft. and over and three boats of lesser dimensions were issued to fishermen on hire-purchase terms; new engines were installed in four other cases. At present nine fishing boats are under construction and it is expected that between this and the end of March next 13 boats will be ready for issue. With the issue of so many first-class fishing craft, fitted with all the latest equipment to enable them to make the best possible use of their time there is every reason to expect that the landings of fish as to quantity, regularity and variety by our inshore fishermen will continue to improve. Most of these men are highly skilled and it is only due to them that they should be furnished with boats which will enable them to employ their efforts to the best advantage and also that they should have as much comfort as possible while they have to live on board when fishing on grounds which are far removed from their home ports.
Before leaving the question of landings during 1951, it would be relevant to make reference to the position as regards exports and imports during that year. Much comment is often made on the fact that considerable imports of fish are permitted. Imports are unfortunately necessary as long as our home fishing fleets cannot meet the consumer demand throughout the year. It must be remembered in this connection that the consumer requires a certain amount of variety in fish supplies and it has been proved that a demand cannot be created and maintained for any one class of fish week in week out. Every care is taken, however, in the importation of fish to ensure that the quantities brought in are just sufficient and certainly not more than are required to bridge the gap between the landings by our own fishermen and the requirements of the market.
In 1951 the value of imports of fresh and cured fish was £295,000; in addition, fish preserved in sealed containers to the value of £526,000 was imported. A heavy proportion of the fresh fish imported consisted of herrings which were needed by the trade when herrings were not being landed by our own fishermen. The cured fish consisted mainly of smoked fish in the form of smoked fillets of cod or such fish and kippered herrings. As I said before, it is hoped to reach the stage eventually when we will not require imports of such magnitude, as it is expected that our own inshore boats, plus the larger boats which will be employed to supplement their efforts, will eventually be able to keep a more or less adequate supply of fish on the market throughout the year.
As regards fish in sealed containers, the position is, and I think it will be agreed by most people, that tinned fish has a place on the consumers' list in all countries, as fish so preserved has the attraction of being easily handled and readily available in all parts of the country. It is a fact that such fish is preferred by many people to fresh or smoked cured fish. The position will probably remain that imports will be necessary until such time as we are in a position to undertake the canning of fish ourselves. This is not a development which can be lightly undertaken as canned fish must be available in a large range of varieties and, furthermore, the variety which is in keenest demand is salmon. To bear the expenses of canning and marketing, salmon would have to be available at a very low price, and as there is a keen and constant demand in the fresh state for all the salmon we can produce there is very little hope that salmon will ever be available in this country for canning purposes.
As against the imports of fish, it may be mentioned that in 1951 our exports of all classes of fish came to £1,027,000; sea-fish came to £160,200, while the fresh-water fish, salmon, trout and eels and some rough fish, came to £866,800. Taking our extern trade in fish as a whole, we find that we had a balance in our favour of about £206,000.
As regards inland fisheries, conditions of water and weather during 1951 season in general favoured fishing by commercial methods rather than rod and line. The statistics for captures of salmon by the various methods came to 25,270 cwt. valued at £731,826 in 1951 as compared with 18,778 cwt. for which £563,024 was returned in 1950.
The salmon season in 1951 was characterised by good runs of fish in those rivers which rely in the main on spring fish. The large spring fish, which have been declining for some years, showed a welcome increase and the improved catches in many rivers in the months of February and March must be attributed to the high proportion of fish of this class. The late spring and early summer fish which run from the end of April until about the 10th June in a normal year were probably less numerous than usual and this accounted for the very poor catches in most rivers during that period.
The runs of grilse, which are small fish with an average weight of 6-7 lb., took place much later than usual and the peak of the run in most areas was two to three weeks later than normally expected. Despite the lateness of the run the catches of grilse were remarkably good and in many areas in this respect the season was as good as that of 1941, when exceptionally good runs of grilse were also experienced. The abundance of grilse in the late rivers more than compensated for the paucity of early summer fish and almost without exception the catches of salmon in 1951 were an improvement on those of 1950.
The position regarding inland fisheries is generally satisfactory but the experience of boards of conservators throughout the country is that the statutory sources of revenue available to them—chiefly fishery rates and fishing licence duties—are proving to be year after year to an increasing extent inadequate to afford an adequate protection service. This is due chiefly to the need for expanded and better protection in view of the incentive to illegal fishing which is offered by the current high prices for salmon, and the progressive rise in wage levels for all classes of protection staff. These financial difficulties have become acute in many areas and I have under consideration proposals under which I hope that additional funds may be made available on the basis of contributions by the industry itself towards the cost of obtaining that protection without which the industry cannot prosper.
The sum of £65,000 set down in the Estimate under sub-head F (5) is the amount expected to fall due for payment as compensation to those who can show that they suffered loss through the abolition of fresh-water netting by the operation of Section 35 of the Fisheries Act, 1939, as from the 1st January, 1948. Amounts totalling over £67,000 have been paid to date in respect of such claims. Since the passage of the Fresh-water Fisheries (Prohibition of Netting) Act, 1951, the way is open for the acceptance of genuine claims and as 30th June was the last date for the receipt of claims there is every hope that the payment of compensation can be completed within the current financial year.
The provision made under sub-head H standing at £57,765 includes a substantial item of non-recurring expenditure, namely, the sum of £55,115 being the contribution of this State towards the cost of acquisition jointly with the Belfast authorities of fishing rights in the tidal waters of the Rivers Foyle and Faughan heretofore claimed by the Irish Society. The agreement for acquisition of these rights on behalf of the public has been duly executed under the authority of the Foyle Fisheries Act, 1952, and the administration of the fishery is now in the hands of the Foyle Fisheries Commission as constituted under that Act. This commission has the functions not only of conservation of the fishery as if it were a board of conservators, but also management of the property which is vested in the Governments and the power of governing the fishery by its own statutory regulations, subject only to the approval of the fishery authorities and of their respective Legislatures.
The Inland Fisheries Trust, a company registered under the Companies Acts, is now functioning, and the sum of £4,900 is provided under sub-head F (6) by way of grant-in-aid to cover expenses of administration and development of fishing waters. The Trust has already under its control extensive fisheries in Counties Cavan, Westmeath, Meath, Longford, Roscommon and the Midlands generally, as well as in County Cork, and a special staff is working on Lough Sheelin in the elimination of predatory fish. It is the policy of the Trust to develop all waters under its control on a planned scientific basis, so that ultimately they may be as productive of brown trout as they possibly can be. The financial provision is a modest one, and lest it should be criticised as being inadequate, I should like to emphasise that more important than financial assistance at this stage is the co-operation without which the Trust cannot be expected to function—the co-operation of the trout fishermen of the country by becoming members of the Trust and taking an interest in the programme of work which it has in hands.
As well as the efforts of the Trust, encouragement is also provided in a number of forms for the improvement of fisheries through the agency of angling associations. Such bodies often think solely in terms of restocking the waters under their control, and while increased provision is made for the schemes under which brown trout ova are made available at subsidised prices, it is right to point out that funds are also provided to encourage associations in activities such as the protection of spawning fish and the destruction of pests such as cormorants, otters and coarse fish. It may well be said that efforts at restocking are worthless if not integrated into a general scheme of protection and improvement. The increasing realisation of this fact is becoming evident in the growing number of angling associations who now undertake schemes for the removal of coarse fish. Considerable interest is also being shown in the experiments which are being conducted by our scientific staff in connection with the elimination of coarse fish and fertilisation of trout waters by adding chemical nutrients.
The other items in the Estimate follow the usual lines and there is very little that I can say by way of informative comment on them. If there are any points, however, about which any Deputy desires information I will, of course, be glad to answer his queries as fully as possible.
Deirtear gurab é an gad is goire don scórnach a gearrtar i dtosach báire. Má's eadh, ní h-íonú go bhfuiltear ag tabhairt tús áite do réiteach na faidhbe chasta úd, ganntan éisc fhairrge. Allmhuirítear cuid mhaith éisc úir gach seachtain. 'Sé soláthar dóthan tíre den iasc seo chomh luath in Eírinn agus is féidir é, príomhchuspóir an Bhóird nua Iascaigh Mhara.