We spare the rod while nets wipe out salmon

THE piece (Irish Examiner, August 3) about the introduction by the Minister of the Marine of mandatory catch-and-release for all salmon caught on rod in September is very good illustration of why the Stop Salmon Drift Nets Now campaign was formed.

The management of Ireland’s precious salmon resource has been the subject of political expediency and knee-jerk actions for generations and if immediate steps are not taken there may shortly be no salmon left to manage.

The four main game angling federations met in Athlone on July 24 together with fishery owners and tourist interests to establish a national campaign to have drift nets removed. If that were done and properly policed then some 200,000 more salmon would enter the rivers.