Body praises salmon stocks plan

AN international organisation yesterday backed a Fine Gael blueprint aimed at both safeguarding and utilising wild salmon stocks more economically.

The North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NASF), which is highly critical of Irish conservation policies, welcomed proposals to offer voluntary compensation to commercial salmon fishermen.

The proposed buy-out or setting aside of commercial licences, for a period of three years, is a core element of Fine Gael’s five-point plan to sustain stocks.