Vol. 568 No. 2
127 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his Department's policy to reduce the level of catch of cetaceans in Irish fisheries; and his views on whether Ireland should make similar commitments to those agreed by a number of EU states who are parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas which has identified interim conservation objectives for small cetaceans. [16006/03]
While the level of cetacean by-catch in the Irish fishing fleet has not been high, my Department remains concerned to minimise this by-catch. In this regard Bord Iascaigh Mhara, an agency of my Department, has been working with the fishing industry since 1998 to develop new techniques to prevent or significantly reduce incidences of cetacean by-catch. Minor adjustments to fishing practices in relation to fishing times and areas have been shown to have a significant impact.
In addition, BIM, in conjunction with Aquatec Subsea Limited. and Loughborough University, developed a practical underwater acoustic alarm system, which emits loud noises that discourage cetaceans from approaching fishing nets. In 2002 this system was used during trials and proved very successful, reducing the level of cetacean by-catch in the tuna fishery by over 90%. Further testing and proofing of this system will be carried out during 2003. BIM, in conjunction with its counterpart agencies in other member states, is awaiting EU approval for a further project involving the development of gear modifications in co-operation with the industry.
Ireland is not a signatory to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas, which relates to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Much of the fishing in our Exclusive Economic Zone is carried out by fleets from member states who are not signatories of the ASCOBANS agreement and to that extent the agreement cannot easily be applied in the area known as the western waters.
It is understood that the Commission will shortly present proposals in relation to the reduction or elimination of cetacean by-catches. I consider that the task of evaluating the most applicable and relevant measures for particular areas and fisheries will be informed by the work carried out by BIM and other relevant experience.
