The chairman of the National Salmon Commission last night warned that a "hell of a lot" of work remains to be done before any resolution can be found to the controversial issue of drift-net fishing and salmon stocks.
Speaking after a day-long meeting of the commission in Galway yesterday, Joey Murrin said it had considered a number of submissions.
These included proposals from Progressive Democrats senator John Dardis, as well as presentations from representatives of commercial fishermen.
Another presentation by the Stop Now campaign, which is opposed to drift-net fishing, estimated the cost of buying out existing drift-net licences at between €20 million and €30 million.
"It was a good start to a longer process," Mr Murrin told The Irish Times.
"But there were no great decisions taken . . . if anybody is that naive to think this is going to be sorted out in a short space of time, then they are wrong."
The commission would be meeting again in December to continue its discussions, Mr Murrin said. In the meantime, he would be talking to the various people involved and reflecting on today's meeting.
Much of the discussion about the issue of compensation for drift-net fishermen, if such a scheme is recommended, is understood to involve the question of who should pay the associated costs.
The issue of Government policy on wild salmon management has proved a controversial one. A recent PD policy document, prepared by Senator Dardis, called for an outright ban on drift-net fishing for salmon, and a compulsory compensation scheme for affected fishermen.
However, last April, the Minister of State for the Marine, Pat "the Cope" Gallagher, told a joint Oireachtas committee that while he was "not closed" to the idea of a buyout of drift-net licences, no convincing case had been made.
He added no consensus had been reached on balancing the wild salmon resource in favour of tourism.
In an interview on RTÉ radio last month, Mr Gallagher also accused the PDs of failing to carry out a comprehensive consultation with interest groups and experts before writing its report.
This prompted PD deputy Fiona O'Malley to say she was "disappointed" by Mr Gallagher's comments.