Vol. 412 No. 2
49 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Marine if he will outline the reports he has received from the Central Fisheries Board and the Regional Fishery Boards concerning the declining stocks of wild salmon in Irish rivers; if he is concerned that stocks are falling so rapidly that the Irish wild salmon may soon be extinct; and the action he proposes to take to remedy the problems.
I have been concerned for some time about the levels of stocks of wild salmon which have been registering reductions in the past few years. This decline in stocks has not been confined to Ireland, however, but has been recorded in all countries where stocks of Atlantic salmon occur, including Scotland and Norway.
My Department received two papers last week from the Central Fisheries Board which discuss possible future options for the management of Irish salmon stocks in general and those in the Munster Blackwater in particular in the light of the decline in salmon runs here.
I have asked my Department to carry out a detailed analysis of these papers with emphasis on the feasibility of the options put forward and the formulation of realistic costings for them.
