Salmon decline - Drift netting ban would save angling

The number of salmon caught in Irish waters has declined by 36.4% since 2001. Everybody is losing out, because this is affecting the drift netters as much as the anglers.

The number of salmon caught using drift nets fell from 197,171 in 2001 to 120,303 in 2004, which amounted to a decline of 38.98%. The number of salmon caught by anglers was down by over 29% in 2003 over the previous year, and the following year remained much the same.

This is beginning to have a dreadful impact on our angling tourism, but there is a proven remedy. Our dwindling numbers contrast starkly with a dramatic rise in salmon numbers in rivers in Scotland, Iceland and Canada, following the banning of drift netting off their coasts. Over 50 years the annual average catch by anglers in Scotland was 67,000 salmon, but in 2004 this rose to 80,000, while Iceland and Canada are reporting similar dramatic increases.