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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 27 May 1987

Vol. 372 No. 13

Adjournment Debate. - Spanish Fishing Trawlers.

I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise this very important question. It concerns not just the fishermen off the south-west coast but all fishermen. Is the Minister for Fisheries aware of the tension which exists between our native fishing trawlers and British registered, Spanish owned fishing trawlers operating off the south-west coast? An incident occurred yesterday off the south-west coast. A Spanish owned trawler, Autumn Swallow, fishing under a flag of convenience came within 30 feet of our own 18 foot Dunmore East trawler the Gary Og. It was not only a ramming attempt but an attempt to cut the fishing trawler's gear. This was a very serious incident and it was committed on lucrative fishing grounds off the south west coast. It was not an isolated case. Several other incidents have occurred in the past seven days in the same area. A few days ago, giant Spanish fishing boats ganged up on a Castletownbere trawler and made life very unpleasant for the skipper. If these pirates of the sea accost our fishermen and impede them in making a decent living we cannot stand idly by. We must ensure ample protection is given to our fishing trawlers. They are competing against all the odds. They operate trawlers which are only half the size of the giant Spanish vessels operating under a flag of convenience.

It is well know that these trawlers which are operated by Spanish concerns are trying to isolate an area 25 miles by ten miles off the south-west coast. This action cannot be tolerated. We must ensure that no barriers are put in the way of our fishermen. It is bad enough to have Spanish trawlers coming within 12 miles of our coastline but if they put up barriers off our shores and prohibit our fishermen from making a living we cannot stand idly by. It is bad enough for our fishermen to have to compete with their European counterparts when they do not have comparable boats. Successive Governments must take the blame for the standard of these trawlers.

The coral bank is one of the most lucrative fishing grounds in the world. It contains a huge amount of hake which is a very valuable fish especially in the Spanish market and it is one of the dearest fish offered for sale on that market. That is why the Spaniards are trying to keep our fishermen out of this area. The Minister should do everything possible to make sure that our fishermen are given an equal opportunity to fish in these lucrative grounds.

Of what benefit to our economy are Spanish trawlers flying a flag of convenience? There is no evidence of them giving any great employment. They got a special concession to establish a factory in Castletownbere. We were told 150 people would be employed there but the factory is now on the point of closure. There is only a skeleton staff of 12 people there now. If this is an example of the kind of return we can expect from them it is high time we renegotiated their terms with them. We must ensure that whatever benefit accrues from their having a base here percolates into the economy. I fail to see any great evidence of employment being created by their presence here. I can assure the House and the Minister that practically all their stores and supplies are purchased in their home port of Vigo in the north of Spain. The only thing, as far as I can ascertain, which they purchase in Castletownbere is ice for their lucrative catch of hake off the coral fishing grounds. We cannot tolerate that any longer.

It is also a well known fact that those people have no regard for the safety or the rights of legitimate fishermen. The sooner they are stopped fishing in these areas the better because they are not of any great benefit to the fishing industry in this country. Practically 95 per cent of their catch is landed in Vigo in Spain. The fish landed in Castletownbere is put into ice and taken by container traffic to Spain for the market there. That fish is not even processed in this country and, therefore, those fishermen are of no benefit to the economy. For that reason I urge the Minister to take immediate steps to ensure that our native fishermen are not impeded in seeking their rightful share of the catch of hake off the south-west coast and the north-west coast because very shortly our fishermen will be impeded in fishing off that coastline also. I ask the Minister to take immediate steps to rectify the situation and to ensure that the lives of our fishermen are not endangered.

About three or four weeks ago a Schull-based trawler was almost mowed down by a Spanish boat. The Spanish fishermen adopted a bullying attitude towards our Irish fishing boats. They do not want the Irish fishing boats operating off the south-west coast. If they are not curbed in their activities, very serious incidents could occur in the not too distant future. For that reason I ask the Minister to take every precaution possible, from tonight onwards, to ensure that our fishermen are not impeded in catching their rightful share of fish in the lucrative fishing grounds of the coral bank.

It is a coincidence that Deputy Sheehan should come into the House when we are discussing this matter. In my engineering capacity I played a key role in the design of the Eiranova plant in Castletownbere. I thought at that stage that the joint venture partnership with the Spanish interests was a progressive step in the processing of fish in the Castletownbere and the Dinish Island area and as Deputy Sheehan said, would create some jobs in the added value area of fish processing which would be very welcome. Therefore, it would be most unfortunate if this experiment in joint venture to bring value added fish processing onshore should be in any way impeded by the difficulties which have been outlined by Deputy Sheehan who is very close to the situation. These difficulties should not cloud the potential for further joint venture processing in the fish industry which we all agree has great potential.

I know the Minister is making great strides to endeavour to ensure that the wealth of the sea, the processing, the added value and the export potential of the fish processing industry is fully maximised. Therefore, the inflow of foreign investment to aid fish processing, which does not seem to have materialised in the Eiranova experiment in Castletownbere, should leave these vessels fishing our waters under a flag of convenience. Whatever the agreement was, a lot can be gleaned and learned from it. If there are restrictions or modifications vis-á-vis the use of the Irish flag they should be inter-related to ensure we get the maximum potential we all believed would be the result of the Eiranova experiment. It is unfortunate that Deputy Sheehan informed the House that there is a conflict because in the fishing grounds there is probably adequate stocks for all concerned and fish exports could be maximised.

I hope the Minister will ensure that the Eiranova plant is used to the maximum. It is a very fine, modern processing plant. I think it has been allowed deteriorate somewhat in recent years but it is still a very fine plant in a key location and in an area that needs onshore job creation. I hope these temporary problems can be ironed out. I have no doubt the Minister will make every effort to ensure that the difficulties and conflicts which have been mentioned tonight can be ironed out.

I do not wish Deputies to confuse two separate and distinct issues. The issue of Eiranova is separate from the issue which has been raised by Deputy Sheehan and I think the Deputy is fully aware of that. I share Deputy Sheehan's concern regarding these incidents and allegations of incidents in the south-west fishing grounds. Unfortunately, these incidents have been a fairly regular feature of fishing activities in this area at this time of year for a number of years past and the Deputy is well aware of that. As the Deputy said, these incidents are deplorable and dangerous and they certainly will not be tolerated.

When it was brought to our notice in mid-May — as the Deputy knows fishing activity in that area starts about the end of April and continues until the end of June — that there were allegations of horseplay and irregular activity in this area, the Minister of State in my Department issued a very firm statement and requested the Minister for Defence to arrange that the Naval Service would investigate the allegations of harassment of Irish fishing vessels. As a result, the Navy visited the area and a number of reports were received from them following the instruction which we passed on to the Department of Defence, that we had allegations that this kind of activity was taking place there, that it was deplorable and regrettable and that the Navy should intervene. As a result of Navy intervention it is my understanding that the incidents have now ceased and that peace has been restored. However, we are keeping the situation very much under surveillance. As I said, the Department of Defence and the Navy have visited the area, have made a number of boardings and have taken a number of statements and these matters will be followed up.

The efforts we have made in that area have been acknowledged by the representatives of the fishermen. I received a telex on 22 May from Mr. John Nolan, manager of the Castletownbere Fishermen's Co-Operative, on behalf of the fishermen in Castletownbere and the Irish fishermen in general. He stated:

I wish to congratulate you on the excellent job the Navy has done over the last few weeks and on the number of arrests of foreign boats illegally fishing our waters.

That telex was sent to congratulate the Department, the Naval Service, the Minister of State and myself for the very swift action we have taken in that area and to assure us of their co-operation in seeing that illegal fishing is stamped out.

I want to clarify what is taking place there. As the Deputy knows, a number of boats fish in this area — about 50 in all. This is a lucrative fishing area where we have approximately 15 boats operating, some French boats, some United Kingdom boats and a number of boats of Spanish origin registered under the United Kingdom flag of convenience arrangement which the Deputy speaks about. Their right to fish there is guaranteed as they are legitimately registered under the United Kingdom licensing arrangement. They are legally and legitimately entitled to operate there. Their quota is similar to ours and to that of other boats, but they are not entitled to behave in the manner about which we have had reports and every effort will be made by us to ensure that this will not continue.

As the Deputy is aware, regulations and legislation were introduced here in 1983 by his own Minister in an endeavour to control operations in this locality and to control the flag of convenience arrangement. As a result of that legislation up to 50 boats were prosecuted for breaches of the controls and regulations in 1985, 34 boats were prosecuted in 1986 and already this year 15 have been apprehended. We will continue to do this where we find breaches of the regulations.

Clashes, which are not a feature in this area but are taking place in many other areas, are deplorable and it is not in the interests of any of those involved to behave in this way. At present I am examining the possibility of taking further legislative measures to prevent this type of unruly behaviour. It is also my intention to raise this issue at the Council of Fisheries Ministers meeting in Brussels and through the European Community and to take it up with the ministers of member states involved to ensure that this kind of unruly behaviour is stamped out.

As I said at the outset, I share the Deputy's concern about this matter. I thank him for the opportunity to put on record the fact that we deplore this type of activity and that no effort will be spared by us to see that it is stamped out. I will raise this matter with the Minister involved and at Community level at the very earliest opportunity.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.25 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 28 May 1987.

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