Former IDA chief executive Padraic White is to head a new Government review group which will examine the implications of a ban on driftnetting for wild salmon.
Prof Tom Collins, chair of the National Rural Water Monitoring Committee, and John Malone, a former secretary general of the Department of Agriculture, have also been appointed to the group by Minister of State for the Marine John Browne.
"I will be asking this group to determine the scale of financial loss which may be experienced as a result of the measures that need to be imposed to fully align with the scientific advice and the precautionary principle," Mr Browne said yesterday.
He confirmed the Government's intention to adopt the recent recommendations made by the National Salmon Commission (NSC), including a ban on netting for salmon at sea from the end of this season.
Mr Browne made no mention of a voluntary buy-out or compensation for commercial licence holders, numbering about 1,500, when he said the measures would involve reductions in the quota available to both commercial fishermen and anglers this season.
He reiterated the Government's commitment "to fully align with the scientific advice provided on the management of the wild salmon fishery by 2007".
He said he recognised "the considerable efforts made by the commercial fishing industry over the past number of years to build a sustainable fishery and they have endured large cuts in the quotas available to them.
"Needless to say this is an extremely complex issue, and I have endeavoured to ensure that the working group have as broad a remit as possible to enable them to study all the factors involved.
"I expect they will consult broadly with all the stakeholders involved in the sector and take account of the socio-economic effect on vulnerable rural communities of any changes."
The review has a deadline of August. It includes examining how much the "main economic beneficiaries" of more salmon returning to rivers - private fishery owners and anglers - should contribute to any scheme.
Anglers will be restricted to a bag limit of 10 fish, as opposed to 15 fish recommended by the NSC, and compulsory catch-and-release will be introduced from September 1st in eight angling districts that are not meeting conservation limits.
