Salmon nets must be hauled in before it’s too late

THE commercial salmon fishing sector has failed to reach its quota since 2001. That year the quota stood at 237,099 and the netsmen returned a catch of 237,626. In 2002, it was set at 219,649 and the return was 208,982.

In 2003, the total allowable catch was 182,000, and the actual catch was 168,819.

Last year the commercial sector returned 145,253 salmon from a quota of 161,965. During this period rod angling returns plummeted, and so did the stocks in all our rivers. The commercial catch was impossibly excessive and a catastrophic crash in the stock loomed.