The salmon angling season opens on a number of rivers in the State on Monday and some hardy rod fishermen will brave the elements and attempt to catch the first fish of the new year. The day will also herald the introduction of a new conservation mechanism designed to establish the stock levels of this wonderful fish and to protect it for future generations. After more than ten years, the long-heralded tagging of wild Atlantic salmon will begin and it will become an offence to possess, display or to sell a fish that has not been tagged. At a stroke, the system will make it extremely difficult for poachers - on the high seas or inshore - to dispose of illegally caught fish. And because the conservation system will operate on a catchment by catchment basis, it will also, in the long term, allow fishery boards set realistic catch levels for this endangered species.
There are rumblings of dissent from some elements of the angling confraternity over the introduction of the tagging system. They regard it as an intrusion into their right to declare, or to keep secret, their catch levels. And they worry that bag limits may be imposed in the future. These concerns may be valid in themselves. But they do not take account of changing circumstances and the need for conservation. Anglers, as much as netsmen, can be greedy and short-sighted. There is no point in reducing the netting of salmon at sea if the surplus is automatically culled in the rivers. Rod fishermen must be prepared to take their share of the pain in the interests of conservation. In fifteen years, stock levels have fallen by about 60 per cent and less than 200,000 wild salmon were caught by all methods last year. It is nothing short of a crisis. The Government has responded by establishing voluntary, set-aside netting provisions in two rivers. And there has been vague talk about a voluntary buyout of drift net licences. Last week's decision by the British Government to make money available for such a scheme off Scotland and North-East England may encourage such a development here. In the meantime, however, we should carefully plot the curve of stock levels The Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey, has displayed commendable energy since taking over responsibility for the preservation of wild salmon stocks, last January. One of his first actions was to establish a National Salmon Commission to assist and advise on conservation and management strategies. That was one of the key recommendations of a salmon management task force that reported in 1996. The introduction of a salmon tagging system is a considerable advance. And it is now up to all concerned interests to ensure it is a success. Fines ranging from £500 to £1,500 can be imposed for breaches of the law and the various fishery boards are to be provided with extra funding by Mr Fahey to police the system. It is a positive step forward in the conservation of a threatened species. And it deserves a fair wind from anglers and netsmen.