A report on the survival of Donegal’s offshore islands has called for the ban on salmon fishing to be reconsidered.
It claims scientists agree there is now a surplus of wild salmon in the Atlantic and says that island fishermen should have access to 10% of that surplus.
It is also calling for an easing of restrictions in area 6A – a fishing area in the Atlantic which includes Arranmore Island.
This would allow island fishermen to fish other species within the 12-mile limit using their traditional methods.
Arranmore fishermen including Gerry Early have constantly called for a relaxation of the ban warning that they are being ignored by the Government.
Initiated by islanders and compiled at the Department of Development and Planning at Aalborg University in Denmark, the report says that Donegal’s islands are at a crossroads.
It calls for the fair treatment of small island communities and the right to practise traditional livelihoods that are ecologically sustainable.
The report highlights a drop in population on islands like Arranmore, which it says is principally due to the limited number of employment opportunities.
It focuses on the ban on the traditional practice of fishing for wild salmon in 2006 and the subsequent closing of Area 6A in 2008 as having a particularly negative impact on Arranmore.
These two closures meant that locals could only fish for lobster and brown crab, the report says.
It says that at in 1988 the population of Arranmore was 768 but now there are only 487 residents. It claims many former islanders would come back if they could get work.
The report claims that the fisheries closures had a direct impact on the population decline and also on the closure of five businesses on the island including a hotel, a pub and three shops and they also contributed to the loss of €1m a year from the annual economy.
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