Vol. 302 No. 7
asked the Minister for Defence the number of Dutch vessels fishing in the Irish sector of the Celtic Sea that have had their catch checked since the introduction of a ban on herring fishing; and the number of prosecutions, if any, that have been instigated.
35.
asked the Minister for Defence the number of (a) Dutch, (b) French and (c) Spanish fishing vessels that have had the mesh sizes of their nets checked within this country's 200 mile exclusive fishing zone since 1st January 1977; and the number of convictions that have resulted.
36.
asked the Minister for Defence the checks, other than their own statements, that have been made on catches of fish being taken by (a) other EEC Member States (b) Spain and (c) Russia, East Germany and Poland up to the time of their exclusion, since 1st January 1977, within this country's 200 miles exclusive fishing limit.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Question Nos. 34, 35 and 36 together.
A total of seven Dutch trawlers were boarded in the Celtic Sea since the introduction of the ban on herring fishing. There was no evidence of herring on board the first six of these trawlers and the question of prosecutions did not, therefore, arise. In the case of the seventh vessel proceedings were instituted and a conviction was obtained on the grounds of obstruction. In the case of vessels arrested for any reason, their nets have, in the past, been checked as a matter of routine by fishery inspectors when the vessels reach port. This was done in the case of 11 Dutch, 12 Spanish and two French vessels. In only two cases (one Spanish and one French) were the nets found to be undersized in accordance with the Fishing Nets (Regulation of Mesh) Order 1976 (S.I. 210 of 1976). Prosecutions were taken in these two cases and convictions secured.
While it had not been the practice in the past to board vessels at sea to inspect the mesh size of their nets, six mesh gauges were ordered for this purpose earlier this year and all have now been issued to naval vessels engaged on fishery protection duties. The naval vessels have been instructed to measure mesh sizes, where possible, and in fact the nets of the Dutch vessel arrested on 30th November, 1977 were checked at sea by the Naval Service.
Since 1st January, 1977, 23 vessels of other EEC States, nine Spanish vessels and one Russian vessel have been boarded and their catch checked. The Russian vessel was en route to fishing grounds off North Africa. These figures do not include any arrests actually made.
Is the Minister aware that Irish fishermen are convinced that the Dutch are fishing for herring under the pretext of fishing for mackerel in the Celtic Sea despite the herring ban? Has the Minister had representation along these lines from the Irish fishing industry?
I met members of the Irish Fishermen's Organisation who mentioned that they felt that the ban was being broken extensively. I checked the matter out with the naval authorities and they indicated that they are satisfied that, as far as they can ascertain such was not the case. We cannot be 100 per cent certain, but I am satisfied that with the resources available to them the naval authorities are doing their best to maintain the ban and that they have been very diligent and indeed successful in performing their duties.
In reply to question No. 35 did the Minister say that only the meshes of ships or trawlers which were arrested were checked? Surely it is our duty to check every vessel fishing within our 200-mile limit. It has been proved in recent court cases that a number of boats, particularly French and Spanish boats, are catching large quantities of undersized fish with illegal nets.
I have issued instructions to the naval authorities that they are to check the mesh sizes of vessels at sea. They are not confined to vessels which they actually arrest. As I explained in the reply the gauges are now available on all the vessels. There was some difficulty in obtaining deliveries, but they have been delivered and are now available and are being used. I have issued a specific instruction that ships are to be boarded at sea and that their mesh sizes checked.
Does the Minister not agree that the fines being imposed at present on some of these fishermen are completely inadequate? Will the Minister through the Minister for Fisheries ensure that these fines are substantially increased? The fines are ridiculous in this day and age.
The function of the naval authorities is to enforce regulations, not to prosecute, which is done in the name of the Minister for Fisheries.
Question No. 37.
In my reply to Deputy Deasy in relation to the allegations made about the breaking of the ban by some foreign countries, I intended to convey that the information given to me by the naval services was that they were not aware of poaching to the extent alleged by the fishermen's organisations, and that every effort is being made by our naval personnel to patrol the waters as rigidly as possible.
I was not really referring to the poaching but to the deception by the Dutch.
Question No. 37.
I will have the point raised by the Deputy further investigated just to be absolutely certain.
