Irish Hotels Federation Chief
Welcomes Minister’s Decision to End Drift Net Fishing of Wild Atlantic Salmon

Friday 24 March 2006: The Irish Hotels Federation today welcomed the decision by Marine Minister John Browne T.D., to adopt the recommendations made to him by the National Salmon Commission and the Government’s commitment to fully align with the scientific advice provided on the management of the wild salmon fishery.

IHF Chief Executive, John Power stated “The Minister’s decision is extremely welcome and a very important development in terms of rebuilding our regional tourism which has been in decline with some areas experiencing serious difficulty. The Minister’s appointment of an independent group to examine the implications of the new regulations for the commercial sector in 2007 will hopefully lead to an equitable buyout scheme for the drift netting issue, a practice which has seen the depletion of salmon stocks in Irish and European rivers and undermined the entire angling tourism sector here.

We have been seeking a comprehensive plan that would put an end to drift net fishing. The Minister’s decision will significantly impact on our tourism offering. It is hoped that this will mark the return of overseas anglers as Ireland now fulfils its obligations to conserving the wild Atlantic salmon. Since 1999 the number of salmon angling tourists coming to Ireland has halved from 54,000 to 27,000 per year on foot of a declining stock and our failure to implement conservation best practice”, he said.

Angling tourism as a business is currently worth €55 million to the economy every year and a salmon caught by an angling tourist is estimated to be €423 compared to €50 for one caught by drift netting. Angling tourists spend an average of 14 days in Ireland.

ENDS

For Information:
Winifred McCourt / Eoin Quinn, Weber Shandwick FCC
Tel: +353 1 6760168,Mobile: +353 87 2446004 (Winifred) / +353 86 2332 191 (Eoin)