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Inland Fisheries Stocks

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 April 2019

Tuesday, 2 April 2019

Questions (403)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

403. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will address a matter with regard to fishing (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15055/19]

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Written answers

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) manages salmon stocks on an individual river basis as each of Ireland’s 147 salmon rivers (including river sections and estuaries) has its own genetically unique stock of salmon. IFI is supported in its management role by scientific advice from Ireland’s independent Technical Expert Group on Salmon (TEGOS), comprising scientists from a range of organisations. IFI also has to have regard to EU legislation, most notably the Habitats Directive under which salmon habitats are protected.

Scientific and management assessments of each of the distinct salmon stocks, including the River Inney's stock, are carried out every year with IFI engaged in extensive stock monitoring, which feeds into the Scientific Group's annual reviews. An average of the 5 years of data is used to estimate expected returns for the coming year to ensure that a good or bad year does not have a disproportionate impact on the stock assessment in any single year.

Based on the annual assessment carried out for the 2019 season added to the previous 4 years' assessments, the Inney is significantly below its conservation limit, which is the number of returning adult fish required to sustain a healthy population. Therefore, the river is not open to harvest fishing either by rod and line or commercially for 2019. The river is open to catch and release angling only. The River Inney will again be included in the annual scientific assessments carried out later this year in anticipation of the 2020 season.

The fundamental requirement of responsible fisheries management is that rational exploitation of the salmon resource is critically dependent on the sustainable availability of that resource. Harvest fishing, by any means, on the River Inney will be dependent on the availability of a sufficient surplus above its conservation limit to underpin exploitation, which aligns with the conservation imperative and which does not put the genetically unique stock at risk.

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