Brussels, 30/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - A report of an independent study group, presented in Ireland, has recommended a complete moratorium on commercial fishing for salmon in the territorial waters of the country, as reserves have suffered a "disastrous decline", the news agency AFP announced in a news dispatch of 25 October. The report, which was commissioned by the Irish government, recommends a total ban, starting on 1 January 2007, of commercial driftnet fishing for the world-famous Irish salmon. The report suggests that 30 million EUR be paid in compensation for the 877 Irish fishermen who use drift nets. Furthermore, the study group states that it is in favour of the suspension of angling in the best-known rivers of the country, the Liffey, the Boyne and the Barrow, where stocks of salmon are "dangerously low". Salmon is under threat because of overfishing, pollution, habitat degradation and poor management of water quality, the report explains. (lc)