Vol. 513 No. 1
169 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the reasons for the legalisation of monofilament net fishing at a time when most other EU countries banned this netting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1525/00]
The ban on the use of monofilament nets for driftnetting for salmon was lifted as part of a balanced package of salmon conservation measures introduced in 1997 on foot of the recommendations of the salmon management task force.
These measures include a reduction in the number of days for commercial salmon fishing from five days per week to four days per week; a ban on night time fishing; a reduction in the area for fishing at sea from 12 miles to six miles; a reduction in the length of the open season for commercial drift net fishing to two months, that is, June and July; a deferral of the opening of the season for commercial draft net fishing to 12 May; a cap on, and a reduction in, the number of commercial licences.
The package of measures was adopted in order to address the decline in Irish salmon stocks and to lead to the recovery of the spawning stock of these fish. They will be reviewed by the national salmon commission.
