Plea to save wild Irish salmon

FISHERIES Minister Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher was called on to save wild salmon in Irish rivers by buying out the licences held by offshore drift fishermen.

The Shannon Regional Fisheries Board has been told wild salmon will become extinct in Irish rivers if action is not taken to stop drift net fishing.

The board passed a motion yesterday at a meeting in Limerick, calling on a ban on sea drift salmon fishing with compensation to the fishermen affected.

Patsy Peril, a drift net fishermen's representative on the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board said: "The minister now has a chance to save salmon stocks in Irish rivers. He can wait for the fishermen to fade away, but the fish, will fade away faster."

He said the Minister should enter negotiations about a compensation package with the country's 850 drift net fishermen.

Mr Peril said he believed each licence should be surrendered on the payment by the state of €80,000.

"This compensation could be paid over five years," he said.

Mr Peril said the government would be compensated with well stocked rivers within a few years which in turn would lead to a huge recovery in angling tourism.

"The number of anglers coming from abroad has dropped by up to 20,000 because of the decline of Irish rivers," he said.

The National Salmon Commission discussed the decline in salmon stocks at a meeting last week.