The Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey, has defended his record on wild salmon management in a bid to quell growing unrest around the coastline over the introduction of a quota on commercial catches.
He has made it clear he is standing by the measures introduced, in spite of recent protests by the Irish Salmon Traditional Netsmen's Association - most recently in his Galway constituency. The association says it does not oppose quotas as a conservation measure, but feels they should include anglers and fishery owners.
The Minister defended his record at a new €150,000 wild salmon quality and marketing programme in Barna, Co Galway last week. He said he was committed to a sustainable, commercial salmon fishery, based on quality and value rather than volume, and to investing in salmon angling as a "valued pastime" and as an "important tourism product".
Both economic goals were "fully compatible" with the objective of preserving the salmon resource in its own right, and supporting coastal and rural communities dependent on it, the Minister said.
He ran through the policy initiatives taken, including the introduction of tagging and logbooks, which was amended under pressure from the angling lobby; setting quotas in 17 commercial districts, bag limits for anglers, and a ban on sale of rod-caught fish.
He said he was investing €1 million in selected catchments to protect water quality, fish habitats, restore river banks and run information education programmes. This would give local communities and angling clubs an incentive to improve water quality in their rivers, he said.
