Vol. 443 No. 9
55 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for the Marine the reason no official statistics on sea trout returns have been compiled or published since the year 1986, in view of the importance of such records in any resolution of the sea trout debate; and the arrangements, if any, that are being put in place to provide accurate assessments of river returns in the future.
Detailed collection of sea trout statistics were discontinued after 1986 due to the perceived unreliability of the data collected for some fishery districts and the resulting problem of making any reasonable assessment of the sea trout resource based on such unreliable information. This was compounded by the introduction of "catch and release" regulations in some districts as a result of emerging problems with sea trout stocks in the late 1980's.
I am, however, conscious of the need, particularly in the light of the sea trout problem, for accurate and detailed statistics on sea trout. In this regard the Department, through the Fisheries Research Centre, FRC, is putting in place a system of sea trout statistics collection in conjunction with the regional fisheries boards. This system will permit the estimation of stock levels rather than catch levels. In addition, the FRC has commenced counter trials for the monitoring of the sea trout stocks on two representative rivers. If the trials are successful, and the initial indications in this regard are positive, then counters will be installed on other rivers.
