Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) manages salmon stocks on an individual river basis as each of Ireland’s 147 salmon rivers (including river sections and estuaries) has its own genetically unique stock of salmon. IFI is supported in its management role by scientific advice from Ireland’s independent Standing Scientific Committee (SSC), comprising scientists from a range of organisations. IFI also has to have regard EU legislation, most notably the Habitats Directive under which salmon habitats are protected.

Scientific and management assessments of each of the distinct stocks, including the river Shannon, are carried out every year with IFI engaged in extensive stock monitoring which feeds into the SSC's annual reviews. The SSC analyses data from the previous five years and an average of the 5 years of data is used to estimate expected returns for the coming year. The use of a 5 year average ensures that a good or bad year does not have a disproportionate impact on the stock assessment in any single year.

Since single stock management was introduced in 2007, the river Shannon has been assessed as the Upper Shannon (upstream of Parteen) and Mulkear. The section of the lower Shannon, below Parteen to Limerick was included in the Mulkear. The salmon stock assessment in this regard was based on the run of salmon recorded on the Mulkear fish counter.

In this year’s assessment, the Scientific Group, at the request of local angling groups to establish a separate conservation limit for the Lower Shannon, assessed the wetted area elements of the entire Shannon catchment and determined that it was appropriate to calculate a separate conservation limit for the Lower Shannon, separate to the Mulkear. This has been set at 4,204 fish in order to sustain a healthy population.

Based on the scientific assessments and management advice from IFI, there is no quota (sustainable harvest) available for salmon for the Lower Shannon catchment for 2019. The lower Shannon is not, therefore, open to salmon angling for the 2019 season.

As part of the stock assessment process for 2019 full catchment wide electro-fishing surveys are planned Positive results from such surveys may result in a river opening to catch and release angling but would not support a harvest fishery.