Irish Smoked Wild Atlantic Salmon (ISWAS) Presidium
THE CASE FOR A COMMERCIAL FISHERY OF ATLANTIC SALMON IN IRELAND
Irish Smoked Wild Atlantic Salmon (ISWAS) Slow Food Presidium
The Irish Smoked Wild Atlantic Salmon (ISWAS) Slow Food Presidium welcomes the opportunity
to make a submission to the Sub-Committee of the Joint Committee on Communications, the
Marine and Natural Resources on the issue of angling and commercial netting of salmon.
Introduction:
The Slow Food Movement is concerned with the defence of biodiversity and, by extension, the
conservation of endangered artisan foods as well as the micro-economies and ecologies within
which they are produced. “Presidia” are the support structures devised by Slow Food to gather
about a given endangered food to determine interventions that will assist in securing its eco-friendly
production in perpetuity.
The members of the Presidium all rely on the supply of wild salmon for smoking as the mainstay of
their businesses. Clearly, those involved in the processing of wild salmon have a vested interest in
securing an ongoing fishery, but only if this is sustainable and can provide a long-term livelihood.
ISWAS believes that this is possible under certain conditions and it is these views that this
document seeks to represent. The Presidium believes that the wild salmon resources must be
managed and developed sustainably in the interests of all concerned parties, and that this is
achievable if all interested parties are prepared to co-operate and make concessions to ensure that
stocks can be conserved and ultimately restored to greater abundance.
The majority of the Presidium is of the opinion that the Minister should adopt the recommendation
of the Standing Scientific Committee of the National Salmon Commission and limit the total catch
of salmon in the 2005 fishing season to 124,571 fish. This catch should be equitably shared between
commercial and angling interests to reflect the historic division of the catch. Both these sectors (and
all other relevant actors) should then work together to ensure the restoration of the wild salmon
stocks such that there is the opportunity for an enhanced catch in the future.
This document briefly addresses the following issues relevant to the debate on the future of the
commercial salmon fishery:
 the need to recognise the full value of the commercial wild salmon fishery
 the need to address persistent illegal fishing operations
 the need to motivate commercial fishermen to manage stocks sustainably
 the opportunity to add more value to the commercial wild salmon fishery
 the need to inform and involve the public in the conservation of the wild salmon
 the need to address the broad range of factors affecting salmon survival
 the inadequacies of closing the commercial fishery as a means of securing wild salmon stocks.
The ultimate goal of fishery management measures should be the recovery of the wild salmon
stocks, not merely a conservation of the present denuded numbers.
Background:
Ireland is one of the last states currently permitting the continued commercial fishing of wild
Atlantic salmon. Many frown upon this fishery and believe that the only way for the salmon to
survive is through a complete cessation of commercial fishing. In these circumstances, Ireland has a
strong responsibility to seek the sustainable exploitation of this already seriously depleted (not to
say decimated) resource, both to ensure that she is not an environmentally reckless neighbour, but
also to safeguard livelihoods associated with the fishery and the unique cultural inheritance of this
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Irish Smoked Wild Atlantic Salmon (ISWAS) Presidium
environmental resource. The Presidium understands this and also that it must itself play a role in
securing the future of the wild salmon population.
The ISWAS Presidium is focussed on the smoked Atlantic salmon, but is clearly integrally
concerned for the wild salmon fishery itself. Smoking is the only significant ‘processing’ of wild
salmon undertaken in Ireland and represents a very considerable added value in the final product
sold. This was not adequately considered in the Indecon1 report. The employment generated and
the services used in primarily rural and coastal areas are a significant contribution to these local
economies.
Existing Protection through Regulation:
The Regional Fisheries Boards report that compliance with regulations is high amongst licensed
fishermen and processors. However, it would be naive to suggest that there is no illegal fishing
activity and, apart from poaching for own consumption, this activity is supported because there is a
market for the fish caught. To some extent this market exists because, while there is significant
appreciation of the superior quality of wild salmon, there is very low public awareness of the threats
to the salmon stocks, and the measures in place to protect them. For example, very few of the public
are aware that all legally caught salmon must be tagged, that there is a limited season in which wild
salmon may legally be caught, that it is illegal to buy rod-caught salmon, and that wild salmon
should only be purchased from a licensed commercial fisherman or licensed salmon ‘dealer’
(fishmonger, processor, anyone legally selling on fresh fish).
The Presidium accepts that current stock levels necessitate limits on the allowable catch, and that
these need to be more restrictive to safeguard the stocks, perhaps even requiring limited closures of
the fishery in some areas. However, we are happy to work with fishermen in the ways outlined
below, paying prices that recognise best practice and quality of the legitimate catch, and where we
can secure the top market prices for the end product, thus encouraging sustainable stock
management.
Engaging the Commercial Fishermen in Positive Protection:
Successful conservation (and recovery) of the “King of Fishes” requires the commitment and full
participation of all those involved in the fishery. In today’s world of international markets, the
fisherman – like the farmer, and all those primary producers harvesting nature’s offerings - is
subject to immense pressures of price and markets. If the commercial fishermen are to husband
these precious stocks sustainably, then all those in the chain of production and supply, including the
final consumer, must recognise the true value of this species, in all senses of the word.
This translates to a very simple market strategy where price reflects value and wild Atlantic salmon
must be highly prized. If that is the case, then the product - whether fresh or smoked - must
command a premium price in the market place AND this premium price must be fairly shared
amongst those involved in delivering the goods. In other words, the fishermen must receive
financial benefit for prudent husbandry and expert handling of the catch, which in real terms means
that the relatively few fish that are caught generate high returns. Revenue generated from such
activities is likely to remain principally within the remote coastal economies and both the traditional
activity of fishing and the incomes it produces contribute significantly to the cohesion of these more
peripheral communities.
In this way the salmon caught generate a valuable income and create the motivation amongst
fishermen to preserve stocks rather than pillage them. Such a “common” resource, to which there is
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An Economic/Social-Economic Evaluation of Wild Salmon in Ireland by INDECON, April 2003
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effectively free access, means that it is difficult to prevent “free riders” who seek short-term gain
without thought for the future. The ongoing annual reduction in quotas, further limiting the numbers
of salmon available, is likely to assist in the ‘rarification’ of the product. However, in such a
situation it is also almost certainly true that fishermen seeking to police themselves have the best
chance of making a significant impact on preserving stocks (and facilitating a recovery) than any
alternative means. The fishermen need to have ownership of their resource before they will be able
to appreciate it properly, and reflect this in how they manage it. How this is to be done is open to
debate, but the quotas and tagging can be seen as a first step to ownership. Elements of the present
system do not encourage this ‘ownership’, but these can be amended (see for example the
comments below in relation to catchment management possibilities).
These are small beginnings. In 1996 the Salmon Management Task Force reported that fishermen
estimated they would need a minimum catch of 1,000 fish to repay their fishing efforts. In 2002
only 20 of over 1500 commercial licence holders caught over 1,000 fish. Clearly, at present there is
a need to ensure that these small-scale fishermen can generate income from other sources, whether
through fishing of other species, or other employment opportunities, or both. But a goal of
successful management of fisheries, and the motivation for it, should be the opportunity for these
fishermen to return to fishing as a principal or sole occupation in time.
Adding more value to the product:
The tagging system that is in place for each salmon legitimately landed also provides us with the
potential to provide the consumer with full knowledge of the product they purchase. Rather than
focus on the “traceability” this delivers, it is important to demonstrate to the consumer the rarity
value of each fish, its significance to a small-scale inshore fisherman, their livelihood, household
and ultimately the local community, and the limited number of individuals who will handle the fish
with skill and care to deliver it to them as sublime fresh/ smoked salmon. This ‘individual profile’
for each fish can make greater use of the very small-scale nature of this fishery and its associated
processing activities to explain its value.
Improving Public Awareness and Participation:
Raising awareness of the need to conserve and value our wild salmon stocks amongst the general
public is important in two ways. An understanding of the need for protection will encourage support
for an effective system of regulation, and an appreciation of the rarity and value of the wild salmon
will help secure maximum prices for the limited number of fish caught legally. In other words all
sectors of the community have a role to play in protecting the wild salmon. This dimension – of
involving the whole community in the protection of the wild salmon – has never been addressed.
The Presidium itself works to increase education and awareness to reduce the need for regulation,
but also to improve understanding of the present need for regulation and its enforcement.
Overexploitation is not the only problem:
The threat to the wild Atlantic salmon stocks is unquestionably real. However, how much is due to
overexploitation by fishermen is not certain. For instance, there are dramatic changes occurring out
in the oceans. The loss of enormous tons of small wild fish being scooped up to feed the farmed fish
must have an effect. Continued work to understand why stocks decline remains vital. That other
factors are involved is well documented, including pollution, predation, and climate change. These
need to be considered seriously and whatever action is possible should be taken to address them.
Closing the commercial fishery is no guarantee that salmon stocks will stabilise or recover. Indeed
the Presidium would be concerned that if the commercial salmon fishery were to be closed, the
further work needed to understand how salmon survival is impaired will not be carried out and so
the necessary actions to ensure the recovery of salmon stocks cannot be taken. It will not even be
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possible to be sure that the implementation of the Nitrates and Water Framework Directives can
address the issues affecting wild salmon survival. Moreover, it is far from clear that activities such
as angling are more benign in their impact on fish stocks, even where ‘catch and release’ is
practised. This sector is likely to experience huge pressure for growth and is hard to regulate in
terms of access and catch.
The Presidium supports the introduction of smaller scale initiatives such as catchment management
programmes that seek to involve all those operating within a catchment in a partnership approach to
maintaining the quality of the freshwater environment. This positive approach has the advantage of
maximum ‘buy-in’ by those involved who also acquire a powerful understanding of the potential
problems and their own role in alleviating these. In this way local action can be seen to generate
appreciable local gains, particularly if the quota for the salmon fishery is related to the catchment
and the health of its stocks.
The Presidium believes that closing the commercial fishery would be an over simplistic response
and arguably unhelpful in the long run. The appreciation of wild salmon will persist, its ‘rarity’
value will be enhanced, and illicit fishing will continue. In such a situation those who fish illegally
will be motivated by maximum gain and have no concern for the fish stocks. It is not inconceivable
that even greater pressure could be placed on these stocks to meet demands, not necessarily from
the Irish market.
Often the case made against the commercial fishery is closely linked to the greater perceived value
of the rod angling recreational fishery. The argument goes that if only a limited number of fish can
sustainably be taken, then it is preferable that these are reserved for the high-value rod-angling
sector that includes a significant number of visiting tourists. It is also maintained that over-fishing
by commercial fishermen reduces the potential revenue from the angling source.
But the value of wild salmon is not just in the bottom line. We need to care for the resources we
have, and achieve a sustainable management systems where we are able to harvest the resource and
gain its benefits for our livelihoods and recreational enjoyment, our diet, culture and so on. This
will not be easy and requires greater maturity, co-operation, and a more sophisticated response to
the problems of depleted stock levels than simply banning all commercial fishing.
Conclusion:
Gaining commitment from all those necessary to secure sustainable fisheries management is
certainly a challenge, but not one that we are prepared to run away from because what we stand to
gain in preserving this activity is the preservation of a traditional livelihood, a cultural association
with the ‘salmon of knowledge’, a gastronomic treasure, and a delight of the natural world.
It would be a far more positive outcome if Ireland could take a lead in establishing an innovative
approach, involving all the relevant interest groups, to creating a mechanism to maintain traditional
fisheries in ways that help the recovery of salmon stocks, and lead to more collaborative resource
management.
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Irish Smoked Wild Atlantic Salmon (ISWAS) Presidium
Producer Members of the Irish Smoked Wild Atlantic Salmon (ISWAS) Presidium:
Sally Barnes
Woodcock Smokery
Castletownsend
Co. Cork
sallybarnes@iolfree.ie
Anthony Creswell
Ummera Smoked Products Ltd.,
Inchybridge
Timoleague
Co. Cork
info@ummera.com
Peter Dunn
Dunn’s Seafare
Jamestown Business Park
Finglas
Dublin
sales@dunns.ie
Frank Hederman
Belvelly Smoke House
Cobh
Co. Cork
mail@frankhederman.com
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