The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, has published details of the development opportunities that exist for coastal and rural communities under the terms of the National Development Plan 2000-2006. The fact that it took eighteen months to put flesh on the bones of the National Plan is unfortunate. But a deal of work was required before finances could be allocated and EU approval received for the various schemes. The outcome represents a digest of programmes, their funding and their implementing agencies, rather than any special new initiatives in either forestry or fishery.
Angling tourism has become something of a poor relation, where Government funding is concerned. Its seven-year investment programme under the National Plan amounts to £31m, compared to £30m for the new area of marine tourism and a whopping £720m for various forestry development schemes. The collapse of fish stocks and growing levels of water pollution are at the heart of the decline, but a lack of Government determination to take tough decisions to protect salmon stocks have exacerbated the situation. For the past number of weeks, commercial driftnet fishermen along the West coast have been selling wild Atlantic salmon for less than £2 a pound - a pitiful price and an obvious waste of a valuable resource.
Mr Fahey has promised to publish a new programme for the tourist angling sector shortly. And he is talking to commercial fishermen about conservation measures through a nets buy-out or set-aside scheme. But he has no crock of gold. The collapse in fish stocks is not confined to salmon. And while the closure of fisheries, the introduction of larger mesh sizes and replacement of traditional quota systems with technical measures has halted the decline of some stocks, the situation is still very grave for many whitefish species. The exploitation of new, deepwater species will provide only temporary relief for the industry when the underlying problem is overfishing.
Forestry, aquaculture and seafood processing represent areas of significant investment under the National Plan. Because of that, the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources regards itself as the major development agency for coastal and peripheral regions. And it promises initiatives in areas as diverse as the seafood sector, harbours, forestry, marinas, commercial ports, angling tourism, coastline protection and aquaculture. It is an ambitious agenda. Let us hope it can be delivered.