Progress on Salmon issue (or not)

"http://www.highlandradio.com/news.php?articleid=000002703

Meeting to discuss salmon drift net fishing described as useless May 30, 2:31 pm
A meeting between fishing representatives and an independent group set up by government to review the future of commercial salmon fishing has been described by fishermen as ""useless"".

Don't you just love the way a 3 man representative group is supposed to be representative of all stakeholders?"

so the ban will come in - the price of wild salmon will double and the poachers will be the winners......its amazing how many are caught on rod and line all of a sudden.........!!!

Banning drift netting will put an end to damage to stocks in a mixed fishery context - ie now any salmon caught will be caught in the estuary of whatever river they're returning to. No doubt the snap and draft net fishermen will be laughing all the way to the bank, as will the poachers - if there is a difference. The only real difference now is who actually catches salmon for profit. The way the drift netters see it is that now they'll be denied to the benefit of the snap and draft net fishermen. In reality, the same number of salmon will be 'harvested' either way.

So is this really progress? Is it fair?

My view is that we have a small number of 'sport' species in our waters. Salmon, sea trout, mullet, tope, bass. Skate, maybe. Definitions vary. But how many of these have real, actual protection, much less legislative protection?

The answer to that question is equivalent to how much our government respects anglers.

So is this really progress? Is it fair?

It's maybe progress for UK and other European salmon anglers, they are having fish returning back to there rivers intercepted over here, like you say Irish Salmon anglers maybe the ones to suffer.
Sean,