Minister announces plans to conserve salmon stocks

Fisheries Minister Carál Ní Chuilín is asking fishermen and the angling community to support voluntary measures aimed at restoring stocks of wild Atlantic Salmon in the North.
~ Thursday, 12 January 2012

Announcing the measures, the Minister said: “The continued commercial exploitation of wild Atlantic salmon and killing of salmon caught by rod and line in the DCAL jurisdiction is currently untenable.

“Scientific research indicates a significant downturn in abundance of wild Atlantic salmon. We have to take further steps to conserve salmon populations.”

The Department monitors the status of Atlantic salmon populations in the DCAL jurisdiction. Conservation targets have been established for a number of rivers that represent the range of river types in the DCAL jurisdiction. These monitored rivers have failed to achieve Conservation Limits in most years since 2002.

Long term monitoring of the survival of salmon during the marine phase of their lifecycle at Bushmills Salmon Station shows a decline from around 30% prior to 1997 to less than 5% today.

A series of proposals have been presented to the Salmon and Inland Fisheries Forum - an advisory body set up by the Department to reflect the views of all stakeholders including the commercial salmon fishermen and recreational anglers.

The Department is asking operators of coastal fishing engines not to apply for 2012 licences. It is writing to the Lough Neagh draft net licence holders asking them to not take salmon in 2012. It is also asking anglers to practice catch and release when fishing for salmon rather than killing them.

The Minister added: “It is hoped that stakeholders can find common ground in the interests of recovery of stocks and we can all join in the shared aim of a return to sustainability of all salmon fisheries.

“With the exploitation of wild Atlantic salmon minimised in 2012, this would offer the Department time to consult on a range of options on the future of both commercial salmon fishing and recreational angling for salmon.”

The decline in Salmon numbers is a global issue - at the ‘Salmon Summit’ in La Rochelle, France, in October 2011 international scientists confirmed that wild Atlantic salmon are dying at sea in alarming numbers. Southern stocks including some in North America and Europe are threatened with extinction.

The Minister added: “This is not an easy decision, nor one that the Department has taken lightly. It comes after years of work and research by DCAL officials, other agencies and stakeholders themselves.”

“We all have a vested interest in this situation, and everyone must play their part if we are to resolve it.”

Notes for editors:

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