The salmon management task force report recommended a package of measures designed to secure and augment salmon stocks and regulations have been recently introduced which complete the first phase of implementation of new management strategies for salmon. They include legalising the use of monofilament netting in the drift net fishery and increasing the permitted maximum depth of net mesh from 30 to 45 meshes deep.
The 30 year ban on the use of monofilament has been widely acknowledged as counter-productive in many respects and on balance the task force concluded that the conservation objectives would be better served by putting the emphasis on fishing effort rather than the type of gear used.
The relaxation of the law on monofilament should be seen in the context of the restrictions being introduced on the drift net fishery, including: postponement of the opening date to 1 June in all districts; limiting of the fishery to four days a week instead of five; restriction of drift netting to day only fishing; and ban on fishing outside six mile limit from baselines.
The new regime taken in its totality will make for more effective conservation and enforcement and will significantly increase the escapement potential of salmon stocks. The package of conservation measures represents a de facto reduction of almost 50 per cent in the drift net season and over 50 per cent reduction in the sea area. The measures, as a package, are critical to halting and reversing salmon stock declines.
