Vol. 454 No. 8
42 Mr. Hughes asked the Minister for the Marine the proposals, if any, he has to introduce regulations or legislation to prevent the removal of crayfish under 90 mm from head to tail in the interests of conservation. [10699/95]
The Department is currently considering possible conservation measures in order to optimise management and regulations of the crayfish fishery. The review is being carried out in consultation with the industry and there are ongoing discussions with the UK authorities in the matter, given the commonality of interest in the stock.
The introduction of a minimum landing size will be considered as a possible conservation measure although we have to bear in mind that the introduction of minimum size legislation by Ireland in isolation would be less than effective in the absence of similar restrictions on other fishermen. Crayfish are a migratory species and the management and regulation of such stocks is ultimately best served by a co-operative approach among states with an interest in fishing them.
