Vol. 504 No. 6
2 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the elements, if any, of the salmon task force report which have been implemented; the plans, if any, he has to implement the full or main elements of the report; the period in which they will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12199/99]
I am implementing progressively the key recommendations of the Salmon Management Task Force report together with other initiatives in relation to salmon conservation and management. When I published and endorsed the Marine Institute's technical report on the task force recommendations last year, I made it clear that salmon strategies would be implemented in line with the views of the task force and my stated objectives for the salmon resource.
I have renewed the key conservation measures recommended by the task force in 1998 and again in 1999. I am also progressively introducing new measures to protect spring salmon stocks. These additional measures include a ban on the use of prawn and shrimp bait until 1 June and the planned closing of spring salmon black spot rivers next year until 1 May.
The national fish county programme is designed to address the data gap highlighted by the task force. I have announced an expansion in the fish counter installation programme with a further 16 planned to be in place by 2001.
I have endorsed catchment management as the way forward and six pilot projects are under way to test and develop the concept. The pilot projects led by the regional fisheries boards are in progress on the Vartry, Barrow, Laune, Mulkear, Moy and Bundrows and will critically inform overall national catchment management strategies.
Salmon tagging was a key recommendation of the task force. Real time monitoring and management of salmon stocks will enable the operation of an effective total allowable catch and quota scheme. Substantial practical progress has been made by the tagging working group in consultation with all the interests. The intention has been to introduce the tagging scheme this year but it became clear that further consultation was needed with the commercial sector as well as anglers. I have set a new target date of January 2000 which I am confident will be met. It is in the interests of both the salmon sector and the anglers that we have all the practical and legal aspects of the scheme agreed and clarified.
Nominees have been sought to the National Salmon Commission from the various salmon interests, and I will finalise the membership and chair of the commission shortly.
Additional Information.
The commission will have a rolling brief to advise on national salmon management strategies. The commission will complete the consultation process on the tagging scheme to meet the new start-up target date. It will have a pivotal role in the task of setting national salmon quotas.
I am committed to ensuring that salmon management policies are effective and based on consensus by commercial fishermen and anglers. Given the complexities involved, consensus is essential to success, as the task force itself has acknowledged.
I thank the Minister for his detailed reply. He knows I chaired the committee that dealt with the report. The Minister of State will be aware of that also as he played a leading role in it. Has the Minister allocated specific responsibility to a group of people in his Department for implementing the main recommendations in the report of the task force? The recommendations were accepted by most of the interests that appeared before the committee. Is the Minister satisfied that his Department will be able to effectively implement all, or the majority of, the report's recommendations?
A principal officer in the Department is in charge of a section dealing with this and other aspects of inland fisheries. Some of the measures which have been introduced already include: a reduction in the number of days for commercial salmon fishing from five to four days per week; a ban on night-time fishing with driftnets; a reduction in the area for fishing at sea from 12 miles to six miles; a reduction in the length of the open season for commercial driftnet fishing to two months, June and July; deferral of the draughtnet open season until 12 May; cap and reduction on the number of commercial licences; and relaxation of monofilament ban. All those measures are elements of the task force report which have been introduced. The tagging quota is being pursued in consultation with all the interests involved.
Will the Minister indicate what discussions he has had at European Union level, or otherwise internationally, on the recommendations? Will he also indicate what will be required by agreement with the EU in order to implement the main recommendations of the report?
The main interest the EU has taken in this matter involves a ban on driftnet fishing of tuna. We have negotiated a phased-in approach to it so that it will not apply fully until 2002. Our fishermen in the south-west in particular are glad of that. The phasing in will follow an immediate initial reduction. Proposals were also made to ban driftnet fishing for salmon, but we were not in favour of that as an immediate step. The European Commission has set aside the pro posals for the present, but I have no doubt that approach will reappear internationally. We are involved in various international discussions concerning salmon fishing. A major conference will take place here in a couple of weeks time. The issue continues to be central to the fishing debate and we will keep in touch with it.
