The Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Pat The Cope Gallagher, has said there will be no buyout of salmon drift net licences during this Government's lifetime.
"Substantial funds would be required and I would have to convince myself that that would be a good investment," he told The Irish Times. Such a buyout would involve 1,500 licences.
The Minister said there had already been a significant decrease in drift net activity which was reflected in catches.
A new campaign group representing salmon anglers has, however, called on him to give "leadership and clear direction on ending drift-netting".
The Stop Salmon Drift Nets Now (SSDNN) campaign issued its call after the Federation of Irish Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers' a.g.m. in Dublin at the weekend.
Spokesman Mr Niall Greene said: "If we are going to make progress in the near term, and it is essential that we do, then we must convince him to cut through the debilitating and dangerous paralysis that pervades the institutions under his control."
Mr Gallagher told The Irish Times that he intended to meet the National Salmon Commission shortly, and said he was familiar with the recommendations of a report published in May 2003 by the Central Fisheries Board.
It did not recommend ending commercial salmon fishing, but said a "rebalancing" between commercial and angling sectors was required, through various measures including revised quotas, support for set-aside schemes, a voluntary buyout, and implementation of appropriate river management.
It found that wild salmon exploitation made better economic sense if geared more towards tourism angling than commercial fishing, but its revenue estimates did not include added value from "downstream" activities associated with commercial fishing in peripheral areas.
During the summer, the Irish Salmon Netmen's Association said its members supported a licence buyout option, the cost of which is estimated at €80 million upwards for all drift, draft and snap net licences.
SSDNN said the Minister had "three crucial tests" in relation to his commitment to salmon conservation: implementation of scientific advice on the total allowable catch for salmon next year; allowance for the capacity of individual river systems when setting this total allowable catch; and whether or not he would sign into law a proposed amendment to the Salmon Fishery Control Order which would "bring some order" to drift net activity.
"A positive answer to all of these questions would not satisfy Stop Salmon Drift Nets Now's demand for an immediate cessation of drift netting but they would at least point to a serious intent to come to grips with salmon conservation on the part of the new Minister," Mr Greene said.
"A negative outcome in respect of any one of them would point to more of the same ministerial inaction that has brought us to the current dire situation," he added.
