Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 May 2014
125. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the name of the person in his Department who assigns licences to fish for salmon in Galway Bay-Killary Harbour; the maximum quota of salmon that can be fished from Lough Corrib per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20682/14]
View answerThe allocation of commercial fishing licences is governed by the Control of Fishing for Salmon Order which identifies a number of categories of applicant depending on, inter alia, the applicant’s previous fishing history. The issuing of licences is administered by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). The applications are considered by the Board of IFI and decisions are made in advance of the start of the commercial fishing season which commences on 12 May each year. Regulations are made annually, following statutory public consultation, for the management of the wild salmon and sea trout fishery, based on the management advice provided by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). IFI is supported in its management of stocks by a statutorily based Standing Scientific Committee on Salmon comprising scientists from IFI, an Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Loughs Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Marine Institute, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI- Northern Ireland) other State bodies and third level institutions.
This independent scientific committee assesses and offers advice on the predicted stocks status in all 143 Irish salmon rivers each year against that rivers conservation limit using the most recent five years of available data from the catchment. The conservation limit is the number of adult salmon required on each river to maintain a healthy population; the stock level that maximizes the long-term average surplus. If a river stock is determined to have surplus fish that are over and above the conservation limit for that river, a total allowable catch is declared. The total allowable catch for the Corrib for the 2014 season is 6,246.
The Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout (Bag Limits) Bye-law No 915, 2013 (for the 2014 season) provides for an annual bag limit of 10 fish, being either salmon or sea trout (over 40 cm in length) per angler and provides for a season bag limit of 3 fish in the period 1 January to 11 May, a daily bag limit of 3 fish from 12 May to 31 August and a daily bag limit of 1 fish from 1 September to the end of the season.
