Vol. 469 No. 5
226 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for the Marine the plans, if any, he has on foot of the recent task force report on salmon fisheries, particularly in regard to County Louth; if he intends to meet the various interest groups in that county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17722/96]
The Salmon Management Task Force report has proposed a comprehensive package of measures designed to secure and augment salmon stocks and also recommends a move to management on a local catchment basis. The main recommendations include conservation measures to limit the exploitation effort, institutional changes to existing salmon management structure and a new control and management regime for the wild salmon catch.
The report offers a comprehensive and balanced approach to salmon management and is a positive and workable basis for incremental strategic change at national, regional and local level. Implementation of the report's findings will be progressed in consultation with the commercial and angling sectors right across the country
To progress, and inform implementation a series of meetings are being held with interested parties to discuss the report and the planned follow-up action. Three of these public meetings have already taken place at Killarney, Waterford and Donegal and were well attended by the representatives of the anglers and the commercial salmon fishermen. Further meetings are planned for Mallow, Dublin and Westport. Salmon interest groups in the Eastern region have been notified of the Dublin meeting (which will be held this evening, 8 October) and have indicated their willingness to attend.
