Vol. 544 No. 4
67 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the situation regarding the pilot scheme for salmon net fishermen; the number of fishermen who have availed of the scheme; the amount of compensation paid to each licence holder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28840/01]
Funding has been provided in my Department's Vote since 2000 to encourage the development of pilot schemes at catchment level to incentivise the reduction of commercial salmon fishing. It is stated policy that the context for such schemes will be strictly catchment based, voluntary and locally driven and based on matching funding from all players at realistic levels. The regional fisheries boards have been asked to lead and encourage pilot schemes. Take-up has been disappointing, but this reflects the complexities and difficulties involved in brokering consensus at local level.
In 2000 one pilot scheme for voluntary set-aside of salmon fishing engines was agreed. The scheme involves the set-aside of draft nets and a fixed fishing engine on the Munster Blackwater. The pilot scheme is intended to operate for a period of five years, that is, 2000 to 2004. The proposal has been developed in consultations involving my Department, the Blackwater Salmon Development Group, the Southern Regional Fisheries Board and the Marine Institute. The Southern Regional Fisheries Board has taken account of the scheme on behalf of the Department.
The scheme has three elements: no fish to be captured by five draft nets for the period 2000-04 – it is estimated that the value of the fish catch to be forgone by the owner of each of these nets is £3,166 per annum; no fish to be captured by the fixed engine net at Ballintrae for the period 2000-04 – it is estimated that the value of the fish catch to be forgone by the owner of this fixed engine net is £5,000 per annum; a maximum of 625 salmon to be taken by the Lismore Estate draft net over the period 2000-04 subject to a maximum of 200 fish in any one of these years – it is estimated that the value of the fish catch to be forgone by the owner of this net is £1,250 per annum.
The total estimated value of fish not taken by the seven fishing engines is £22,080, 28,036, per annum.
Additional informationUnder the pilot scheme compensation in this amount is to be paid to the owners of the nets with 50% being from private funds raised by the Blackwater Salmon Development Group and 50% from my Department. The matching Exchequer funding, therefore, is £11,040, 14,018, per annum for each of the years 2000-04.
This pilot scheme does not encompass the drift net licence holders in the district. A separate proposal has been developed by the Southern Regional Fisheries Board working with the Blackwater Salmon Development Group. The Minister met the group recently to discuss its proposals and emphasised the need to ensure value for money in finalising the scheme. Discussions are continuing on these proposals. In addition, all the regional boards are being urged to proactively encourage the development of sustainable cost effective proposals at catchment level.
I thank the Minister of State for the detailed description of the Blackwater set-aside scheme. I was afraid for one moment that he was going to name each of the 625 fish.
Detail is important.
Apart from the Blackwater scheme, have any other voluntary set-aside schemes been agreed?
No.
Have there been any requests from fishermen to the fisheries boards for such schemes or have any initiatives been taken by any of the boards to negotiate such schemes in any other catchment?
Yes, there has been quite an amount of consultation. Unfortunately, the take-up is not great. The intention is to continue as vigorously as possible with such discussions with the various areas. Sufficient funding has been made available to deal with others. I hope the take-up will be greater. I live among net fishermen, including draft net, drift net, snap net, fixed net and traditional.
And poachers.
It is very difficult to break traditions in areas – it is a very difficult process. In some areas this has been ongoing for hundreds of years and fishermen do not want a tradition to die. In some instances they would rather that the tradition did not die despite the number of salmon being caught.
If there is only one scheme and nobody else is negotiating or offering, then this voluntary set-aside approach has been a failure.
The Minister of State mentioned three estates where licences had been purchased for set-aside schemes, but he named only two – Lismore Castle and Ballintrae. What is the third? I got the distinct impression from the Minister the last day we had Question Time that money is the problem when it comes to the set-aside scheme and that he is not prepared to spend money to buy fishermen's licences. There is a mixture of fishermen. Some would like to avail of a set-aside scheme while others would like to keep the tradition going, as the Minister of State rightly said. A number of the licences are dormant and not being used. Where licences are being used, the Minister of State should promote a set-aside scheme in all fishery areas.
My question is somewhat similar to Deputy Deasy's. When will the Minister of State embark on this set aside-scheme for the entire coastline as far as salmon fishermen are concerned? There is a growing demand along the south western seaboard. Several traditional salmon fishermen have stated to me that they are still awaiting a firm commitment from the Minister of State and his Department as to what scheme he has in mind as far as set-aside is concerned.
Following on from Deputy Sheehan's question, is the Minister of State aware that in the particular area to which Deputy Sheehan referred there has been a very substantial difference between the level of inducement offered in the first round of discussions and what seemed to be available when interest was expressed by fishermen who wished to involve themselves in the scheme? That has been a very serious disap pointment to a number of those who wished to take advantage of the set-aside scheme.
I want to make it quite clear that there is no question of a blank cheque being issued. We are interested in progressing the scheme.
Perhaps the Minister of State should send the Taoiseach down to sign a few blank cheques.
In response to Deputy Gilmore's question, the scheme is not a failure. It is not going as well as we would like it to go, but at least it is progressing. Perhaps it will take until 2004 before we see the value of the scheme in operation. On what Deputies Deasy, Sheehan and Dukes said, if only some fishermen on the river are anxious to become involved, it will not be successful. It has to be all or nothing. If some decide to sell to us – if it is a buy-out – and not fish, then others on the river using any of the nets I mentioned will catch the fish the others would have caught. It has to be all or nothing. We are thinking in those terms.
The fisheries boards are discussing the matter in various areas. That is probably the reason the Deputy was prompted to ask the question today, that is, because fishermen have said they want to sell. There are fishermen in my area who are very anxious to sell, lease or give it up, if paid per annum over a period. Slowly, people are beginning to accept this may happen. I should state two things – there is no blank cheque while tradition is important.
The restricted length of the season—
The Chair has been more than generous in allowing so many supplementary questions.
