andMr. J. O'Leary asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he will introduce legislation to enable the courts to increase substantially the penalties for fishing by foreign trawlers in Irish territorial waters.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Trawler Fishing Penalties.
18.
An increase in the penalties for illegal fishing by foreign nationals within our exclusive fishery limits is one of a number of proposals for amending our sea fisheries legislation which I am considering at present.
Is the Minister aware that the fines imposed at the moment are a joke and that the manner in which foreign trawlers have a system of having their gear rebought and handed over to them must be dealt with very quickly?
I agree that the fines need revision and the Minister has indicated that he is in the process of examining this. The real penalty is confiscation of gear and catch and the delay, inconvenience and the loss of fishing time caused by the law of the sea regulation, which means that the vessel must be boarded, examined and brought to port. The costs, for instance, of going to sea again of the Russian vessel caught last year was £60,000. The congratulations of the House should also be afforded to the Naval Service who caught two French vessels last week and a Roumanian vessel this week.
Is the Minister aware that because of the very low level of fines it is the practice among foreign fishing fleets operating off the west coast in particular to allow one of their vessels to act as a decoy and to be caught by the protection vessel? The protection vessel is engaged in bringing the vessel and its crew into the nearest harbour and has to spend several days in port while the skipper of the foreign vessel is charged before the courts. While all of this is going on, the rest of the fleet are cleaning out the fishing grounds. Is the Minister aware of all of this?
I am not so aware and I suggest that the Deputy is operating in the realm of James Bond. I do not think the fishermen are so native. I have explained to the House already that the real penalty is not the fine; it is the loss of time and also the confiscation of the catch and gear. It has cost the Russians £60,000.
Will the Minister tell the House when he proposes to introduce the new legislation which he referred to earlier?
I will ask my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, to communicate with the Deputy when he has information on the matter.