FISSTA have appealed to the Government with the aid of other international salmon conservation bodies to announce the buyout of irish nets for the coming season and save the remaining stocks for future generations. The appeal came in the form of a full page advertisement in today's Irish Times addressed to Minister Fahey in which the group of bodies forming teh "Coalition Against Mixed Stock Salmon Netting" through this new advertisement campaign to focus attention on the dwindling salmon stocks and lack of action by this Government while every other country has acted to buy out their nets by paying a compensation to the fishermen.

The Chairman of FISSTA, Mr. Noel Carr said that "The time is now for our Government to stop the nets by whatever means necessary to save the species of wild Atlantic salmon - a species already listed as endangered in the USA. I believe our country will gain much more through angling tourism than netting and if it means giving compenstion to the fishermen to achieve this, then so be it.
This is the system that has worked in other countries - so why not here?"

Mr Orri Vigfusson, Chairman of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund and President of the Coalition Against Mixed Stock Salmon Netting said "UNLESS there is a major change in policy by the Irish Government to protect our dwindling wild salmon stocks, there is no good reason why the North Atlantic Salmon Fund should be used to continue to pour millions of dollars into salmon restoration."