Vol. 522 No. 3
193 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will sanction the designation of the Killimor-Kilcrow River in County Galway as a salmonoid river to improve the salmon stocks and help generate extra tourism activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18703/00]
Certain waters are designated as salmonid waters under the European Communities (Quality of Salmonid Waters) Regulations, 1988 (SI No. 293 of 1988) which transpose EU Directive 78/659/EEC, known as the Fresh Water Fish Directive. The regulations prescribe quality standards which must be met by the designated waters and provide for sampling, analysis of samples, register of sampling results and related matters.
The directive confers discretion on member states as to the waters to be designated and their designation as salmonid or as cyprinid waters. The 34 waters designated as salmonid waters by the 1988 regulations provide a good geographical spread and comprise a representative selection of such waters. They do not comprise a comprehensive inventory of salmonid and cyprinid waters given that virtually all waters in Ireland are potentially capable of supporting salmonid or cyprinid fish species.
I have no current proposals for the designation of additional waters for the purposes of EU Directive 78/659/EEC nor does it appear that any additional designations are warranted given that the repeal of the directive is envisaged by the proposed EU Framework Directive on Water Policy.
