The governement announced a set of restricitons on the Irish net fishermen
which will reduce from this season onward the amount of fish they can catch
under a quota system. The details of this have yet to be agreed when the
National Salmon Commission meet tomorrow Friday 11th in Galway Great
Southern Hotel.

The Minister for the Marine, Frank Fahey TD made this announcement to FISSTA
and other leaders of the netsmen, fishery owners and Board members in Galway
tonight.

FISSTA have greeted this news, although it falls short of the outright
buyout of nets which we have campaigned for many years. Chairman, Noel Carr
said "That the principle for commercial restrictions has now been conceded,
by the Minister, is progress. However, the level of this progress will be
measured by the level of quota restricitons that will be negotiatied at the
National Salmon Commission in the coming weeks. Until these details are
decided we will not know how effective Minister Fahey's decision really is
and how many fish it will save from the nets."

FISSTA had put Minister Fahey under tremendous pressure and only yesterday
had escalated their campaign further by threatening to withdraw their voice
off the Commission if a decision was not made before the Commission
convened today. Due to the combination of such protest actions auch as the
one page advert in the Irish Times and other protest measures highlighted in
the media recently FISSTA has forced the Government introduce net
restricitons for the first time ever.

Chairman of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund who helped organise the finance
for Campaign Against Mixed Stock Salmon Nets congratulated FISSTA and all
salmon conservationalists who worked hard to get this great first step on
the road to an eventual buyout programme. Further details will be
published on this site as it emerges from the NSC on Friday and the FISSTA
Executive meeting in Galway on Saturday 12th January.

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