A complete ban on drift-netting for salmon, as well as angling curbs on more than 30 rivers, will be put in place within weeks, following the Cabinet's decision yesterday to accept recommendations to save stocks.
Ministers accepted proposals from Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey with little disagreement, at yesterday morning's Cabinet meeting.
However, Minister for Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív and Minister for Agriculture and Food Mary Coughlan favoured a voluntary buyout of the 800 drift-net licences, over a compulsory ban.
But Pádraic White, a member of the Independent Salmon Group whose report led to yesterday's Government decision, warned the salmon population would fall to "catastrophic" levels if drift-net fishing was not banned immediately.
Fishermen will share €25 million in compensation, based on their catches over the last five years. It will be paid over three years, if desired, to ease tax payments. Monofilament nets must be decommissioned before they will qualify.
Some €5 million will be made available to help coastal communities hit hardest by the ban. Nearly 400 of the 800 licence-holders can continue fishing for other species.
Salmon fishing by anglers, meanwhile, will be banned in 32 rivers, mostly in the east, from January 1st. However, it will be allowed in 24 others and in a further 10 if the drift-net ban leads to increased numbers of fish returning to rivers.
