The commercial catch of wild salmon fell by 11 per cent this year compared to 2001, according to the Central Fisheries Board.
In fact, this year's commercial catch of the fish was 10,667 fish below the allowable catch of 219,649 fish provided under the new tagging scheme for wild salmon and sea trout.
Mr John O'Connor, chief executive of the Central Fisheries Board (CFB), says commercial salmon fishermen deserve a special tribute for their co-operation with the tagging system, which was introduced as a conservation measure last year.
However he expressed "concern and disappointment" that many anglers did not make the returns which they were obliged to make under statute, and has appealed to those who have not done so to do so as soon as possible.
The board's figures were presented at a meeting of the National Salmon Commission this week, and includes data relating to the commercial and angling salmon season of 2001, and the commercial season this year.
A report on the 2002 angling season will be published when the angling catch and activity returns have been received and collated.
Almost 30 per cent of all the wild salmon caught nationally were captured in the north-west. The Moy river in Co Mayo provided the largest number of salmon to the rod nationally in 2001, with an estimated catch of 7,285 fish.
The report says that approximately 25 per cent of the commercial driftnet fishermen caught some 70 per cent of the fish. It notes that of the 14,258 logbooks returned by anglers to the central and regional fisheries boards in 2001, 10,446 (or 73 per cent) returned a zero catch of salmon.
