Govt accused of allocating unsustainable salmon quotas

The Green Party has accused Marine Minister Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher of allocating unsustainable quotas to wild salmon fishermen.

The party, which is due to launch a 'Help Save Our Salmon' campaign today, claimed Mr Gallagher was ignoring scientific advice about dwindling salmon stocks and pandering to the wishes of vested interests.

The minister has proposed a salmon quota of just under 140,000, despite scientific advice that catches should be limited to 97,000.

The Green Party has claimed this could lead to the extinction of salmon in many Irish rivers.