asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he will make a statement on the quantities and value of fish dumped in Ireland and the EC in 1984.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Fish Dumping.
13.
The reply is in the form of a tabular statement which I propose to circulate in the Official Report.
Following is the statement:
|
Species |
Quantities dumped (tonnes) in 1984 |
|
Whiting |
182 |
|
Haddock |
16 |
|
Mackerel |
733 |
|
Hake |
102 |
|
Herring |
2819 |
|
Plaice |
42 |
|
Saithe |
52 |
|
Cod |
4 |
|
Spur Dogfish |
1337 |
|
Ling |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
5287 |
In view of the wholesale dumping of fish and the scarcity of food in other parts of the world, will the Minister tell the House if any serious attempt has been made by the EC to find some better use for this valuable food rather than continuing with this dumping?
I am sure the Deputy is aware of efforts that were made during our Presidency of the EC in relation to the distribution of surplus food to Third World countries, and in particular north-east African countries such as Ethiopia and the Sudan. There is a problem here in relation to fish in particular. Because of the perishable nature of the commodity it is very difficult to provide for transportation and the technical problems that arise in relation to freezing and so on. With the best will in the world it would be difficult unless one went into long term planning to provide for the disposal of the fish through these avenues to this destination. We are aware of the problem. I accept that it does not sound morally right to dump fish when people in the world are starving but there are serious problems in getting it to the people who need it.
14.
asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he is aware of the dumping of fish in the early days of January 1985; the steps he is taking to avoid a similar recurrence; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I take it that the Deputy is referring to the dumping of herring in the Celtic Sea which reached a high level in early January. Herring fishing in the Celtic Sea is carried out under licence in accordance with rules laid down by the Celtic Sea Management Committee which is a committee representative of all interested groups in the area. There was a problem in early January in that the expected marketing outlets did not materialise and hence the fish was withdrawn from the market unsold. I have been in touch with the committee in regard to the general management of the fishery and have arranged to meet them in the next few weeks to discuss the problems. I am glad to say that the incidence of dumping of fish in the area is now much reduced.
Will the Minister comment on the fact that the dumping of herring was confined mainly to fishermen fishing out of Kilmore Quay and Dunmore East and that it seemed to be confined to fishermen in the south east rather than around the coast?
The problem here is that the dumping took place in the Celtic Sea because of the level of herring fishing there. It was because of the volume of herring available, the extent of fishing that took place and the lack of outlets. The position was that trawlers came in. They were expecting Klondykers to arrive but they did not arrive. That precipitated the dumping to an enormous degree.
Will the Minister comment on the fact that the south east fishermen were penalised and that apparently other fishermen around the coast were not penalised? Why were the fishermen of Kilmore Quay penalised? They were the people who had to dump, and not others.
The Celtic Sea fishery is not owned by the south east fishermen. It is an asset owned by fishermen of this country. I cannot stop outside people from coming in there and if they upset the market at local level that is a problem that is faced and dealt with by the management committee in the area which is representative of south east fishermen and other interests.
Does the Minister not consider that in order to keep some kind of equilibrium each trawler around the coast should have equal access to a market to which the trawler owner subscribes? Is the Minister aware that a marketing board was set up under the chairmanship of his ministerial colleague, Deputy D'Arcy? Is he aware that the Minister, Deputy D'Arcy went to Kilmore Quay shortly before this and promised that the luggers would come in and take the fish from Kilmore but that did not happen.
That seems to be a separate question.
I suggest that is a somewhat different question. It was not the Kilmore Quay lugger that caused the problem but the Klondyker that was to come for other trawlers but that did not arrive in time. The market is not good at the moment for herring and any upset in the market has serious effects all along the line to the producer. That is what happened in this case. I took it upon myself to arrange for a meeting with people in my Department and the management committee and the matter was resolved amicably at that stage. I have not heard of any problems since then so I must assume that things are going quite well down there at the moment.
I am calling Deputy P. Gallagher.
Am I to assume that those fishermen from the west coast were looked after while Deputy D'Arcy's fishermen were not looked after?
That is a false allegation.
It is not a false allegation. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
The Minister should not answer unless he has been called to do so by the Chair.
Will the Minister accept that for such small quantities of fish — by national standards a small quantity of fish was involved in Dunmore East at that time — we should not depend on foreign freezer vessels to take them? Secondly, would he accept that the boats which we are expecting to come, and which I agree caused the dumping, did not come for the benefit of the Irish fishermen? They came here because no herrings were available elsewhere. I am asking the Minister if every effort will be made to ensure that these fish can be taken ashore and that we can get to the markets that these other countries are selling to. Furthermore, let me suggest to the Minister that it is not absolutely necessary to have freezer ships to preserve herrings. Does the Minister accept that the old, traditional method, the first method of preservation for herrings was salting? If we are interested and not just paying lip service to helping people in the Third World, this is a golden opportunity. Only three ingredients are necessary — barrels, salt and the raw material, herring. The Minister might consider this for some time in the future. I appreciate that the Minister cannot change the market overnight, but he might consider this for the benefit of the Third World during the next 12 months or so.
That would involve the full co-operation of the people who catch the raw material.
Does the Minister accept that we should not depend on foreign freezer vessels to ensure that small quantities of herrings have to be dumped?
There is a technical problem here in that where fish does not reach a certain level of price — intervention level — then it must be disposed of by the producer organisation in whose area the fish was landed. That is the technical problem to which we have agreed within the EC. I am giving the Deputy the technical details of the intervention system on fish to which we are a party in the EC.
I am suggesting——
You are spending a very long time at it.
Is the Minister suggesting that if we do not reach the minimum price there is no way that these fish can be taken ashore? With the full co-operation of the fishermen surely we could find some way out, and I am sure the Minister will have no difficulty in getting the assistance of his colleagues in the Council of Ministers to take these fish ashore below the minimum price and salt them for Third World purposes.
One allotment of fish was given to charity already. We must be very careful here because the Commission emphasise that you must specify exactly where it is going and you must specify exactly the amount because it has an upsetting effect on the overall market. That is feasible and the Deputy can take it that we are prepared to look at this in more detail and see what can be done, because there are difficulties.
One final supplementary. Does the Minister accept that the projected landings from the Celtic Sea in 1985 will possibly be double those for 1984? Are arrangements in hands now to ensure that we will not have a recurrence, bearing in mind that the landings may well be doubled? Is he making any efforts to ensure a withdrawal price within the EC?
The management committee are advising me on a daily basis as to the level of landings and the projections for the future. Appropriate action will be taken when necessary to ensure that we do not have a recurrence.
Will the Minister speak to the manager——
Ceist 15.