I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for being here for this Commencement matter, which calls on the Minister with responsibility for nature, heritage and biodiversity to carry out a breeding cormorant survey on the Moy catchment area, including Lough Conn and Lough Cullin, to assess their impact on the decline of salmon in the River Moy. This comes with the backdrop of a decrease in the number of salmon being caught on the River Moy, which is the jewel in the crown and is recognised internationally for the abundance of salmon in it, its special ecological status and the biodiversity along it. Unfortunately, in recent years, for a multitude of different reasons, there has been a marked decline in the number of salmon being caught. The area relies heavily on tourism and benefits a lot from it. There is a real tradition and generational enjoyment of fishing on the river in a sensitive way.

There has been a decline. I have raised in the House and at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy the need and potential for a LIFE project along the River Moy, which could help to identify positive, ecologically sensitive interventions that could be made to protect the spawning salmon and the sea trout that are further out in the estuary. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to improve the stock.

I am raising this Commencement matter on behalf of the Moy Action Group who I met recently. One of the approaches is to use more accurate fish counters so we have better data to understand how many fish are moving through the river at each moment in time. This Commencement matter, however, deals specifically with carrying out a survey of the breeding cormorant. One was carried out in Galway, where smolt shepherding allows for better protection of smolts as they move through the river. It helped to increase the number of salmon by one third. There was a marked improvement because of smolt shepherding on that river. It was a much easier area in which to do it than the River Moy. I would welcome the commencement of a breeding cormorant survey on the River Moy to understand what can be done to improve outcomes for salmon on the river. This is one small element of a much broader picture of challenges that salmon fishing on the River Moy, which is in decline, faces. I would welcome the Minister of State's contribution on the matter.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter on carrying out a breeding cormorant survey of the Moy catchment in County Mayo, to inform an assessment of their impact on the reported decline of salmon in the river. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, is an executive agency of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which provides the legislative and policy framework for the conservation of nature and biodiversity in Ireland. It also oversees its implementation, based on good science, with particular emphasis on the protection of habitats and species through, among other means, the designation and conservation of sites under EU nature directives and national legislation. While the NPWS of the Department has a policy and regulatory role in relation to bird species, including cormorants, policy and regulation in the management of inland fisheries is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, an agency of the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment. This function includes the protection, management, conservation and improvement of inland fisheries, and the provision of scientific research and management advice to the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, including in respect of threats to and pressures on species under its remit, including Atlantic salmon.

The surveying and monitoring of species and habitats form an important component of the work of the NPWS. Staff in the NPWS co-ordinate a national seabird monitoring programme that produces population estimates and other demographic statistics at various geographic scales in order to meet reporting obligations. It also provides relevant data to inform the conservation management of seabirds breeding and wintering throughout Ireland. The latest assessment of Ireland's breeding cormorant population across the period 2015 to 2021 indicates a broadly stable picture since the mid-1980s. A closer examination of the recent records for counties Mayo and Sligo shows that all of the known important cormorant colonies of these counties are sites along the marine coastline away from the River Moy catchment. Further surveys and monitoring initiatives for Ireland’s breeding seabirds are planned for the coming years with a view to producing an updated national assessment for cormorants and all other breeding seabirds by 2031.

It is worth noting the NPWS funds and manages the Irish Wetland Bird Survey, I-WeBS, which is Ireland's programme for monitoring population trends of wintering waterbirds and the habitats they use. Sections of the River Moy catchment, including Lough Conn and Lough Cullin, are regularly surveyed for cormorants and other wintering waterbirds. The aforementioned survey programmes collect valuable data to inform the conservation management of bird species. This data has other utilities for other stakeholders whose focus is on the conservation of fish species including salmonids. All data collated by the NPWS is available to be shared with Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, upon request, and can inform policy and regulatory approaches by IFI and the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment in relation to salmonids.

I thank the Minister of State. He is here on behalf of the Department and the Minister and I thank him for taking the Commencement matter. However, I am none the wiser in terms of the issue I raised. The latest assessment of Ireland's breeding cormorant population indicates a broadly stable picture since the mid-1980s. However, the context in which I am raising this is the rapid and significant decline of the salmon population on the River Moy. That is clearly outlined in the Commencement matter. It has been outlined here that further surveys and monitoring will be done in the coming years. That is quite vague in terms of when, what, where and how. I would welcome the Minister of State's support in getting us a more considered reply from the Department. We cannot farm off all responsibility when these are State bodies. There is a clear ask here as a public representative on the floor of the Seanad this morning for this survey. This is on behalf of people in my community who are working constructively and proactively to better understand and better react and respond to the decline of the salmon population. They deserve a better and more considered answer on this. I would welcome the Minister of State's support in achieving that because, as I said, a lot more can be addressed and answered in respect of the important Commencement matter I have raised this morning.

I note Senator Duffy's point. I will make a couple of points. While the NPWS of the Department has a role in the protection and conservation of bird species, including the cormorant, policy related to the management of inland fisheries is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland. I have a note from the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment which reads:

While salmon stocks have been in long decline both in Ireland and internationally, the technical expect group on salmon reports that the number of wild salmon returning to Ireland has progressively declined from well over one million for much of the 1970s to less than 200,000 in recent years. In light of declining numbers the Minister of State for the Marine, Deputy Timmy Dooley, has written to IFI asking it to review the existing approach to salmon management to consider what options are available for protecting and recovering stock. This work, backed by scientific advice, will inform future policies in this area.

Cormorants can impact salmon, particularly during the salmon smolt migration period in spring. This can have an impact on some rivers. Cormorants are not considered the primary driver of the overall decline in salmon stocks. IFI undertook a national stressor analysis in 2025 of key pressures affecting wild Atlantic salmon stocks. The analysis was published on the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, NASCO, website and includes a range of factors including predators. Poor water quality, habitat degradation and salmon aquaculture were identified as three priority stressors that should be mitigated to improve conservation of the Irish Atlantic salmon.

I will bring the points made by the Senator back to the Minister, Deputy Browne. I suggest that he could follow up with the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, on the specific aspect he raised on the work of Inland Fisheries Ireland and whether that can feed into that review.

It may be of use for the Senators to note that the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy will be dealing with the issue of the salmon on the River Moy and salmon conservation more widely at a session in April. I thank the Minister of State.