Vol. 442 No. 5
126 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for the Marine the reason he has not made the supplementary report to the sea trout working group report 1993 available to the public; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Save Our Sea Trout Organisation have agreed to meet with the Irish Salmon Growers Association when this report is available to both sides; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Sea Trout Working Group, whose report of the 1993 sea trout research programme was published last February, has been continuing its evaluation of ongoing scientific work into the causes of the sea trout decline.
The working group has reported to the Department on progress on some of the work undertaken so far this year, namely, further analysis of currently available data which, as noted in the Sea Trout Task Force report, provides a stronger statistical indication of a relationship between lice infestations on sea trout and distance from salmon farms. Further analytical work is being carried out on this and other hypotheses about the role of sea lice in sea trout declines. The most current research findings are being prepared for publication in the scientific literature and will be forwarded, in the first instance, for consideration by the successor body to the task force which is being put in place without delay.
While the need for continued research on all aspects of the sea trout problem is acknowledged, the first and most immediate priority is the practical framework for action recommended by the task force, notably to ensure the effectiveness of measures to control sea lice levels.
