New restrictions on salmon anglers may be compromised under a deal proposed by the National Salmon Commission.
The commission, chaired by Mr Joey Murrin, advises the Minister for the Marine on salmon policy. It is expected to propose that anglers be allowed to catch one fish next month, instead of the ban proposed by the Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Browne, for September.
Mr Browne's measure is one of a series drawn up with scientists following one of the worst salmon seasons on record. High levels of rainfall and cool water temperatures should have led to an improved run of salmon into freshwater, according to scientists and fishery board representatives who met recently with Department of the Marine officials on the issue.
The situation is regarded as so serious that the Department has been advised not to extend the commercial season this year. Ironically, the 2004 commercial quota is unlikely to be reached due to the poor run of fish, and it is estimated that it will not exceed 150,000 fish - or 93 per cent of the total allowable catch.
A new anglers' lobby group, Stop Salmon Drift Nets Now, which says it is backed by all four of the Republic's national game angling federations, fishery owners and tourist interests, has blamed commercial netting of salmon for the decline.
It has described as "quite ridiculous", "ill thought-out" and "devoid of any scientific basis" the Minister's move to impose mandatory catch-and-release restrictions on anglers next month.
"The suspicion cannot be avoided that the Minister's action owes more to an attempt to mollify the commercial sector for his refusal to extend their season than it is does to any active fishery management policy," it stated.
It has criticised the Minister for failing to consult with the National Salmon Commission.
The commission believes that other factors must be taken into account in any analysis of the poor season, given that commercial netting is no longer a lucrative activity due to prices.
Commercial fishermen who have signed up to an agreed quota imposed by the National Salmon Commission's scientists have had their catches reduced significantly over the past three years.
Anglers are permitted to catch 20 fish per season, and there is a voluntary catch-and-release system in place. The National Salmon Commission has been seeking anglers' agreement to reduce their total on conservation grounds.
