Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the netting licences issued by the Foyle Commission are issued to persons resident in the Republic of Ireland and how many to persons resident in the United Kingdom; and, of those issued, in each case how many were for nets operated from bases in each country.
§ Mr. DunnIn 1977, 302 netting licences were issued to persons in the Irish Republic. About one-third of these licencees operated from Northern Ireland from time to time. In the same period 74 such licences were issued to persons from Northern Ireland all of whom operated from Northern Ireland.
Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the salmon and grilse netted in the Foyle Commission area in 1976 and in 1977 453W were taken by nets operating from County Donegal and how many by nets operating from County Londonderry; and, of these fish, in each case how many were taken by nets operated by the Foyle Commission.
§ Mr. DunnThe numbers of salmon and grilse netted in 1976 and 1977 were as follows:
Co. Londonderry Co. Donegal Total By FFC Total By FFC 1976 11,131 2,898 18,262 Nil 1977 11,198 4,761 19,398 Nil In addition 9,538 were netted in Co. Tyrone in 1976 and 8,662 in 1977, some of which were netted by the Foyle Fisheries Commission.
Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the salmon nets operated in the area controlled by the Foyle Commission are operated by professional fishermen, being persons whose sole income is derived from fishing; how many are from the United Kingdom; and how many are from the Republic of Ireland.
§ Mr. Dunn24 fishermen operating salmon nets in the area controlled by the Foyle Fisheries Commission derive their main incomes from fishing; all 24 are from the Republic of Ireland.
Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for net licences in the Foyle Commission's area have been refused in each of the last three years: and, of those refused, how many were from unemployed persons and how many from professional fishermen.
§ Mr. DunnThe information is as follows:
1975 1976 1977 Total licences refused 63 46 19 To Professional Fishermen 4 2 1 To Unemployed Persons 25 18 6
Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the procedure for netting applications for netting licences for salmon in the area covered by the Foyle Commission; and what are the powers of the netting sub-committee.
§ Mr. DunnApplications are considered annually by the commission's staff and454W licences are issued to those who held licences in the previous year, unless disqualified. Any vacancies are submitted to the netting sub-committee of the Foyle Angling Advisory Council for recommendations.