Drift-netting: listen to science not politics

THE conclusions of the independent salmon group on drift nets are welcome (Irish Examiner, October 25). The Government’s response will reveal much about the relationship between scientific advice and political decision-making.

The expert group concludes that only an immediate end to drift-net fishing can avert a terminal decline of salmon stocks — yet Fianna Fáil TDs from coastal counties are already arguing that drift-netting is a traditional practice and it is ‘unrealistic’ to impose a complete ban. They propose voluntary measures instead.

It’s hard to see how these TDs are representing the best interests of their constituents, given that scientific reality is not negotiable. What these politicians are really saying is the Government should let drift-netters catch all the salmon they want and discover for themselves this is unsustainable, rather than intervene to make salmon stocks, and fishing, sustainable into the future.