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Salmon And Grilse

Volume 229: debated on Wednesday 21 July 1993

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To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) salmon and (b) grilse were taken by drift nets in (i) the Foyle fisheries area and (ii) the fisheries conservancy area in each of the last 10 years; what was the average weight of each category of fish; and how many fish in each category were taken by fishermen resident in Northern Ireland and in the Irish Republic.

Commercial salmon catch returns do not differentiate between salmon and grilse. The total drift net catch, and average weight of fish, for the areas within the jurisdiction of the Foyle Fisheries Commission and the Fisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland respectively are as follows:

Foyle Fisheries CommissionFisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland
NumberAverage weight (kgs)NumberAverage weight (kgs)
198365,6543.441,2313.27
198418,2992.946623.12
198524,5283.391,0103.33
198632,2803.344793.15
198712,5872.912483.18
198817,3213.216753.09
Foyle Fisheries CommissionFisheries Conservancy Board for Northern Ireland
NumberAverage weight (kgs)NumberAverage weight (kgs)
198955,1083.148123.17
199033,8503.142523.03
199120,3793.028383.10
199233,3212.982,2673.08
Information on the number of fish taken by fishermen resident in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland respectively is not available but for statistical purposes it is established practice to include 50 per cent. of the catch in the Foyle area, in addition to all of the Fisheries Conservancy Board catch, when computing the total Northern Ireland catch.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) salmon and (b) grilse were taken by each type of net in Northern Ireland fisheries in each of the last 10 years; and how many such fish were taken by anglers in the same years; and what sums were paid in licence fees in each of those years by (i) netsmen and (ii) anglers.

Salmon catch returns do not differentiate between salmon and grilse. Total commercial catches—inclusive of 50 per cent. of the catches in the Foyle area—by type of net, were as follows:

Drift netsDraft netsFixed engines
198334,0588,26014,425
19849,8125,69513,077
198513,2747,4338,908
198616,6196,38112,064
19876,5412,78610,808
19889,3358,20213,389
198928,36615,61917,529
199017,1775,11210,135
199111,0282,7206,673
199218,9274,5157,696
Accurate information on angling catches is not available. Anglers are not required to make returns in the Fisheries Conservancy Board's area, but such information as is available is published in the board's annual reports. A very low percentage of anglers make the required returns in the Foyle Fisheries Commission area, with reported angling catches and the percentage of licensed anglers who made the following returns.
YearAngling catchesPercentage return
19838317
198437915
19851,81410
19861,1728
19873904
19889605
19899756
19909274
19914829
19925236
Licence fees paid by commercial salmon fishermen and anglers respectively to the Foyle Fisheries Commission and the Fisheries Conservancy Board were as follows:

YearFoyle Fisheries Commission1Fisheries Conservancy Board
Angling licences £Commercial fishing licences £Angling licences £Commercial fishing licences £
198329,80032,76398,47710,188
198429,45435,488108,6569,140
198538,94236,314117,68710,873
198644,11337,307134,45011,520
198747,90735,470146,94110,839
198857,65835,982159,16612,050
198956,14738,226164,60711,818
199058,89340,328174,54510,473
199161,99443,351188,14612,116
199262,62242,410192,00313,658
1 Full licence revenue included.