Vol. 568 No. 2
110 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the reason the Indecon report on the Irish salmon fishery was not released by his Department for more than three months following its completion; his views on the conclusions of this report; when he will take action to conserve salmon stocks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15911/03]
The report, An Economic/Socio-Economic Evaluation of Wild Salmon in Ireland, prepared by Indecon International Economic Consultants was commissioned and published by the Central Fisheries Board and I have asked the chief executive officer of the board to reply directly to the Deputy on the timing of its publication.
The report is an important evaluation as it addresses the shortcomings of previous and now outdated work through the employment of extensive new survey research. It provides an up-to-date estimation of the economic and socio-economic value of the commercial and recreational salmon fishing sectors in Ireland. Now that the report is published, I have asked the Central Fisheries Board to obtain the views of the stakeholders with a view to identifying areas of consensus and report to me on completion of that consultation process. I will then consider all views in the context of determining the future policies and strategies for the long-term sustainable management of this natural resource.
My overriding objective is to preserve the salmon resource in its own right and for the coastal and rural communities that it helps to support. The economic goals for a sustainable commercial salmon fishery based on quality and value rather than volume and the development of salmon angling as an important tourism product are both fully compatible with the primary objective.
