Madam, - Ministers Noel Dempsey and John Browne deserve great credit for their political courage in agreeing to the recommendation to ban drift-netting for salmon.
Politicians have not always been prepared to act in the national interest by rejecting the lobbying of powerful vested interests. Courageous acts such as those of Mary Harney in banning smoky coal and Micheal Martin in the smoking ban are few in number but will leave their positive mark on political history.
Our salmon rivers of the future will be a monument to Noel Dempsey and John Browne and their enlightened decision. I hope salmon anglers will now do their bit in the regeneration process to be undertaken and that the proposal for community involvement in the future management of inland fisheries will be progressed. - Yours, etc,
Cllr DECLAN MacPARTLIN (Ind),
Enniscorthy,
Co Wexford.
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Madam, - I wish to congratulate Minister for the Marine Noel Dempsey on his recent decision to ban drift-netting for salmon.
It has been warmly welcomed by the 75,000 anglers representing over 300 angling clubs in the country. It is indeed thanks to the efforts of these anglers through protection and conservation measures that the salmon has survived.
We had 1.4 million salmon returning to our rivers in the late 1970s and only 200,000 in 2005.
No crocodile tears should be shed for the netsmen when the facts are that 445 of the 877 licence holders returned only a catch of 50 salmon each in the last five years.
Compensation is based on these returns.
Is 50 salmon sold at €23 each, making an income of €1,150 per annum a loss of livelihood?
The vast majority of these netsmen are only part time and will receive €9,000 each in compensation. Only three netsmen returned over 1,000 salmon.
It beggars belief to know how many salmon were caught both legally and illegally. The figure is estimated at well over 200,000 salmon annually.
The positive aspect of the ban is that our angling tourists will again return to the 184,000 visitors per annum.
After the ban on drift-nets in Scotland 2,800 full time jobs were created and £113 million sterling added to the economy. I think this says it all. Níl tír gan bradán. - Yours, etc,
TEDDY FOLEY,
Ballyard,
Tralee,
Co Kerry.
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Madam, - The article in your paper (October 27th) by Noel Wilkins makes disturbing reading.
His statement that drift-net fishermen are the victims rather than the (main) cause of the decline in stocks is misleading. Coming from a respected specialist in the field, it implies a scientific finding.
However, this opinion can only be described as an unsubstantiated hypothesis, and one which is at serious odds with the views among most peers in his field.
Prof Wilkins has on other occasions expressed his view that climate change is a major culprit. There is indeed good evidence that variation in salmon catches between years are influenced by climate/weather variability, but temporary declines in catches in Irish rivers, for some fishing companies going back to the 19th century, have never brought salmon to the brink of extinction.
Climate change, as in the observed and predicted trend of increasing global temperatures, has only become apparent in the 1980s. The decline in salmon catches, eg in the Moy river in Co Mayo, coincides with the rocketing catches from drift-net fishing in the early 1960s, and continues with a more sustained fall after 1977.
This trend of declining catches on the river, and simultaneous observed decimation of spawning beds, obviously pre-dates climate change.
This cursory review of data does not suggest climate/weather to be an important factor. Because of the implications, Prof Wilkins's hypothesis does deserve more attention, and efforts to test his views. This is not only relevant for the future management of salmon resources, but also for the more acute question for the taxpayer: how should we compensate the most likely culprits of near salmon extinction for the loss of a business that already appeared to be in terminal decline? - Yours, etc,
MENNO BOUMA PhD,
Puckane,
Nenagh,
Co Tipperary.