A proposed £100 million buyout of the drift-net salmon fishing rights along the Atlantic seaboard has no Government backing and is "unworkable", according to the chairman of the National Salmon Commission, Prof Noel Wilkins. Buying out one section of the commercial industry will not secure the future of the wild Atlantic salmon, which is under threat, mainly for environmental reasons, throughout the northern hemisphere, Prof Wilkins has said.
In his view, such a move would only encourage poaching on inland rivers. He believes a balanced approach to management, based on census gathering, conservation and co-operation among anglers and commercial fishermen, is far more likely to "put more fish back" into Irish watercourses.
Prof Wilkins, associate professor of zoology at NUI Galway, says he has the support of the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, and is not under Government pressure to initiate a voluntary buyout of the commercial sector.
A questionnaire circulated in the last two months by a member of the commission among 730 drift-net licence holders on such a buyout, does not represent the views of the representative body, Prof Wilkins insists.
The survey was carried out by Mr Patrick Peril, a ministerial appointee to the commission established by the Minister. Mr Peril signed the covering letter as drift-net fisherman and member of the National Salmon Commission and subcommittee on "incentivising reduction of commercial salmon fishing effort".
A key question in the confidential circular asks the respondent to identify one of four amounts which would be regarded as fair compensation for a voluntary buyout - £120,000, £100,000, £80,000 and more than £120,000. Mr Peril told The Irish Times he had the sanction of his commission subcommittee to send the questionnaire. However, he also confirmed he sent the circular at his own expense.
Mr Peril's move has "set the work of the commission back 12 months", according to Prof Wilkins, while the Minister told The Irish Times late last week he did not authorise it. The State would not pay that sort of sum in any case, Mr Fahey insisted, but he said he had an open mind on set-aside or buyout and was looking forward to the commission's recommendations.
The commission was one of the key recommendations in a task force report on salmon management undertaken for the Fine Gael/Labour/Democratic Left coalition by a group led by Prof Wilkins.
That 1996 report was seminal in that it recognised the right of coastal communities to fish for salmon in the sea and said a ban on drift-nets would be unenforceable. It found salmon stocks were under pressure, but not in as poor a state as claimed by angling bodies, and said tagging at sale was the most effective way to eliminate poaching and illegal fishing.
Prof Wilkins believes environmental factors such as pollution may be the main reason for the decline in salmon stocks throughout the northern hemisphere and is adamant the dearth of information on the state of the stock is scandalous. To blame one sector - the driftnetters - is a kneejerk response, he believes. Tagging is due to begin in the new year, in spite of opposition from one of the angling groups.
Prof Wilkins's review group favours temporary set-aside and a flexible and co-operative approach which gives some security to both commercial fishermen and anglers. He believes the future is in regulation for everyone involved, but on a consensus basis. "If catches and stocks (of wild salmon) continue to decline, the EU will demand Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and that means no fishing for anyone, offshore or inland."
