LORCÁN Ó CINNÉIDE, CEO, IRISH FISH PRODUCERS' ORGANISATION
SUBMISSION TO THE OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE FOR
COMMUNICATIONS, MARINE AND NATURAL RESOURCES IN ADVANCE
OF COMMITTEE HEARING ON SALMON, APRIL 5 2005
While the IFPO per se is not directly involved in matters relating to Wild Salmon, the
organisation is nevertheless closely associated with commercial Salmon fishermen as
part of our general concerns relating to commercial fishing in Ireland. It should be
noted that
- our Chairman, Mr. Brendan O'Rourke is a member of the Salmon Commission,
the Southwestern Regional Fishery Board and a drift-net licenseholder in the Kerry
district;
- our CEO, Lorcán Ó Cinnéide has over the past ten years been involved in various
roles advising and supporting the continued development of commercial salmon
fishing and that
- many of our present membership began their fishing careers in the commercial
salmon fishing sector.
We recognise the the vital importance for small peripheral communities throughout
Ireland of commercial salmon fishing by drift and draft net. While not large in global
economic terms, the value of landings in these small communities is a vital swing
factor which contributes to the overall household incomes of those involved and
makes the difference between viability of these households or not, or the standard of
living in those households.
We also recognise the significance of commercial drift and draft netting in rural
development terms as well as in cultural terms, such fishing being a tradition over
hundreds of years and the fact that many of the principal areas of commercial sea
fishing for salmon are in traditionally Irish speaking Gaeltacht areas.
There has been a prolonged debate and indeed a sustained campaign by angling
bodies and others for the banning or phasing out of commercial fishing on the
supposed basis that commercial fishing is somehow the sole or even the principal
cause of the decline in salmon stocks. This is entirely a fallacy. The Salmon
Management Task Force correctly indentified up to 40 influences which can affect
salmon mortality, among them sea survival (while the fish are on the high seas)
which is scientifically recognised now as being a major issue. Commercial fishermen
have accepted significant cuts in fishing days, fishing areas open to them and fully
implemented tagging regulations and quotas based on the share of the surplus
available for harvesting over and above the stock necessary for river spawning in
order to sustain overall stocks. All they wish is to continue to have the right to
harvest their portion of that surplus in a rational manner. A ban or phase-out of
commercial fishing is simply a transfer of resources from one group (who depend on
it for a living) to another group, the anglers and fishery owners. This is a totally
unjustifiable position.
Likewise, the argument that the fishing is an interceptory one in which Irish
commercial salmon fishermen catch "other people's" stocks is a fallacy. The total
fishing time available to commercial drift net fishermen is approxiately 6.2% of the
year in total, and that all within the six mile limits (daylight hours for four days per
week in June and July), a very tiny area indeed. That means that there is no
commercial drift net fishing at sea in North Atlantic waters off Ireland for 93.8% of
the year, when salmon are completely free to access rivers.
Commercial fishermen are demonstrably quite prepared to participate in the rational
management of the resource in partnership with other interests - the state, local
authorities, fishery boards, anglers and fishery owners, and are committed to
maximising the value of the now quota limited catches which they are confined to. A
seminal document in this regard was recently launched by Cork and Kerry drift and
draft net fishermen, which clearly demonstrates the lengths which they are prepared
to go to do so, in good faith. Commercial fishermen are prepared to see changes in
the way their business is managed and regulated. However, their basic rights must be
respected and the various other stakeholders must assume their responsibilities
equally - which patently has not happened to date. This must include more extensive
research on the life cycle of salmon at sea to determine the causes of reduced sea
survival, reduction in river pollution and removal of habitat in rivers which has been
a major problem, as well as active conservation by angling interests.
In summary, what is needed here is a genuine partnership approach in which no one
section is demonised and the scale of the salmon resource conserved and increased if
possible, maximising value for limited catches at sea, the spawning opportunities for
the fish are optimised and fishing activity both on land and at sea properly managed.
Salmon is an invaluable natural, indigenous resource to Ireland and as such, is one
that must be SHARED.
Lorcán Ó Cinnéide