Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 March 2026
19. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if the longest extended period of below average rainfall since 1975 was factored into the results of the 2025 IFI salmon fry counts on the Boyne /Kells Blackwater catchment;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22776/26]
View answer20. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the metric of assessing the salmon stocks on the Boyne/Kells Blackwater Catchment that is most relied upon by Inland Fisheries Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22777/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 20 together.
Conservation limit attainment is the primary metric relied upon in assessing salmon stocks across all 144 designated salmon rivers in Ireland. Conservation limits represent the minimum number of spawning salmon required to sustain the population.
The attainment of conservation limits is determined by Technical Expert Group on Salmon (TEGOS) using an established, science-based methodology that is applied consistently across all salmon rivers. This methodology draws on best available information from a range of sources, including fish counter data, catch data and catchment wide electrofishing (CWEF) surveys, over a five-year assessment period.
The TEGOS report indicates that the Boyne salmon stock is achieving only 10% of its conservation limit and, based on that metric, the scientific advice for 2026 is that the river is closed to fishing.
With regards to rainfall, I refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 95 of 18 March 2026 in which this Question is addressed.
