There have been positive reports from many rivers about the numbers of wild Atlantic salmon that have successfully returned to their spawning beds. That is an important development and it reflects the courageous decision taken last year by former minister for the marine Noel Dempsey to ban the use of driftnets around the coast. In spite of the improvement, however, salmon stocks remain under immediate threat. Half of the State's 140 rivers do not have a viable population and they will remain closed to all kinds of commercial and sports fishing for the coming year.
A decision by Minister for Natural Resources Eamon Ryan to re-open 27 rivers to limited exploitation, based on the number of returning fish in 2007, may be premature. It takes at least four years for the birth/spawning cycle of a salmon to be completed. An upturn in stock levels for one year could easily be offset by drought and other environmental factors in another. In the circumstances, erring on the side of caution would have been a more prudent approach.
The ending of driftnet fishing saw the introduction of bag limits for rod anglers, catch-and-release where stocks were endangered, and the closure of most east coast rivers. Those were necessary steps. And it is time such a conservation regime was extended to wild brown trout fisheries, particularly in the west of Ireland. Angling pressure has become so great and fishing methods so effective that brown trout stocks need urgent protection on Lough Corrib and Lough Mask as well as on other great lakes. A bag limit of one or two fish a day may bring screams of outrage from some greedy anglers. But such discipline would be a small price to pay for long-term angling pleasure and the protection of a valuable national resource. Because the great lake fisheries are free to everyone, immediate self-interest has reigned supreme. And the result is obvious in declining catches.
Conservation and control measures can benefit all fishermen, be they rod anglers or deep sea trawlermen. But it is a difficult proposition to promote. The introduction of catch quotas by the EU staved off a collapse in sea fish stocks, but the situation remains critical. There are some hopeful signs of recovery and Irish fishermen stand to gain significantly from any upturn. In the meantime, those agencies tasked with preventing illegal fishing should be encouraged in their efforts. The newly appointed Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, along with the Garda, the Naval Service and inshore fishery protection officers have a difficult job. There should be no special pleading for law-breakers.