The Irish Government have introduced a Salmon Hardship Scheme to compensate Irish salmon drift net fishermen "to provide a measure of relief to fishermen experiencing hardship following the Irish Government decision to fully align with scientific advice for 2007 and beyond".  The Salmon Hardship Scheme is adminstered by BIM ( Bord Iascaigh Mahara ) the Irish State agency with responsibility for developing the Irish Sea Fishing and Aquaculture industries.

There are roughly 500 Irish fishermen holding licences for commercial salmon fishing. These people, their families and communities have been drastically affected over the past 6 years since the introduction of fishing quotas on salmon. 

Currently the proposal put forward by the government includes a €2022 payment per licence and graded payments for fish caught.  As the quotas were introduced many of the fishermen could not catch the volumes of fish they had previously caught.  The quotas were decreased year on year and the fishermen’s income from salmon fishing decreased with it.

Now the Irish Government want to deny the majority of these salmon fishermen their fair share of the hardship fund by basing distribution of the monies on the number of fish caught.  The scheme equates to 80% of salmon fishermen receiving less than €20,000 of a €25,000,000 total fund.  Many are receiving less than €10,000.  This leaves the majority of the money, probably more than 2/3 of it being distributed between 100 fishermen. 

The annihilation of the salmon fishing industry has also meant the further erosion of small fishing communities.  The coastal areas and islands of Ireland were heavily dependent on the salmon fishermen with their licences not only for employment, but also to support local business, (shops, workshops, diesel pumps, etc), schools, churches and cultural activities.  With the decline in salmon quotas also came the decline of culture, tradition and folklore in these areas. 

Now employment in coastal Ireland is based on seasonal tourism.  Fishermen have had to retrain and re-invest in new industries and initiatives to make a living.  They have received no support for this.

Salmon fishermen have complied with log books and tagging of fish, aiding the government in helping to conserve and regenerate salmon stocks. Furthermore, when the log book and tagging systems were implemented, it was specifically agreed with the fishery boards and the government, that they would not be used for any other reason than to track the number of fish caught.  

Now the salmon fisherman’s wish to aid this process is being penalised as compensation is based on the number of fish caught under decreasing qoutas for the last six years. Compensation should not be based upon these artifically low figures and should also take into account the difference in catch numbers.

The sum of €2022 for each licence can be compared to the unsatisfactorily payments given to employees of Aerlingus, Eircom and others.  Former state employees still have their industry to work in and still have their jobs.  Account must be taken of the fact that the Irish Drift Net Fishermen have had to sacrifice their livelihood, community, culture and folklore.

We are now looking for the community of salmon drift net fishermen in Ireland, their families and friends as well as other interested parties, to support the call for an increase in compensation payment for the salmon license. 

We ask you to sign the online petition and contact us with your comments. It is hoped that by bringing together support, those involved in commercial salmon fishing in Ireland can gain a fairer compensation payment under the Salmon Hardship Scheme.