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.
