Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the value of eels taken by commercial fishermen in the Foyle commission area is of a commercially confidential nature and the value of salmon and grilse is not.
§ Mr. PendryThere is only one commercial eel fisherman in the Foyle area. It would be a breach of confidentiality to make available his returns to the Commission. Since salmon and grilse are fished by a number of concerns, the size of individual catches cannot be calculated from the global total.
Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will ensure that in future the number of salmon netting licences issued to persons resident in the Northern Ireland part of the Foyle commission area will start to increase so that Northern Ireland residents will eventually at least equal in numbers those licence holders who are resident in the Irish Republic, especially since the vast majority of these salmon were hatched in rivers in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. PendryThe granting of licences is a matter for the Foyle Fisheries Commission, which considers all applications on their own merits.