Deputy Taylor-Quinn gave me notice of her intention to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of the closure on Friday last of the herring fishery in the Celtic Sea. The Deputy has five minutes to present her case and the Minister five minutes to reply.
Adjournment Debate. - Herring Fishery Closure.
With the agreement of the House, I would like to share my time with Deputy Jim O'Keeffe.
Is that satisfactory? Agreed.
The Minister closed the Celtic Sea herring fishery on Friday last resulting in 120 fishermen now being grounded and 120 factory workers being out of work because, as the Minister is aware, this herring fishery is a labour-intensive one, fishing being engaged in mostly for the extraction of roe for the Japanese market. This means many families are affected, with many people now unemployed. In addition, there are approximately 30 truck drivers unemployed as a result of this decision.
There is no point in the Minister coming into this House this evening saying that the quota has been exhausted or that the entire fishery has been fished out. This fishery has been reduced in recent years by unacceptable proportions. The onus rests on the Minister to do everything necessary to ensure increased quotas in future negotiations conducted within the EC for the Irish, particularly in the Celtic Sea.
The Minister should recognise the serious position that has developed, particularly the number of families facing into the Christmas season without jobs who will have a very lean Christmas as a result of this closure. I am appealing to the Minister this evening to examine the position.
There is an opening available to the Minister to allow at least 2,000 tonnes of the 1991 quota be fished between now and the end of December. I am asking the Minister to bring forward 2,000 tonnes from the 1991 Celtic Sea fishery quota enabling that amount be fished out by the end of this year. The Minister will be aware that the value of the fish per box now is much greater than it would be in January and February next; it is now almost double the price it would yield two months hence. Therefore it makes a lot of economic sense from the Irish fisheries point of view to do so now.
It is very clear that the consequences of the Minister's order are catastrophic for families all along the seaboard in south west Cork and beyond. My concern is with my area but its implications go beyond that.
I know that the Minister will refer to management committees and so on. It is now a question of passing responsibility; the buck stops with the Minister. We are seeking a solution. In circumstances in which dozens of boats are tied up, with hundreds of people with on-shore and off-shore jobs now unemployed, facing into Christmas, can a solution be found at this stage, in order to allow them a couple of weeks' fishing, giving them some chance of Santa Claus rather than a bleak fare on their Christmas tables?
Would the Minister tell the House now how it cannot be done, or rather outline to us what can be done? Deputy Taylor-Quinn suggested bringing forward a couple of thousand tonnes from next year's quotas. There may be other ways. For example, I heard talk of the need to re-establish the old boundaries of the Celtic Sea as between the Tusker and the Galley. Although it was not then the responsibility of the Minister I gather that the change effected in 1982 may have been a contributory factor. I am told that there are ample supplies of fish there. Is there any way in which the Minister can give the fishermen a way of getting at them?
My colleague, Deputy Sheehan, was anxious to endorse the view and, with your approval, Sir, I would seek your indulgence to allow him do so.
I endorse the sentiments expressed by Deputies Taylor-Quinn and Jim O'Keeffe, that the Minister do his very best to endeavour to solve this pressing problem. Quite a number of people are now unemployed in Schull and Castletownbere fishing plants because of the lack of herring. As Deputy Taylor-Quinn suggested, perhaps the Minister could bring forward 2,000 tonnes of next year's quota and allow the fishermen to fish them between now and Christmas which would go a long way to alleviating their position and restore some sanity to the industry.
I am glad to have this opportunity to speak on this subject particularly in view of the ill-founded criticisms and comments reported in the media.
I should explain from the outset that this year the Celtic Sea fishery was managed for the first time by a local management committee comprised of representatives of the Irish Fish Producers' Organisation — that is the fishermen — and the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters' Association. On the basis of a quota allocation of 15,120 tonnes, the committee took key decisions with regard to the pace of exploitation of the quota. This arrangement differed from last year when the fishery was managed by my Department, in such a way that the fishery remained open to the very end of the year.
In so far as this fishery is concerned the core issues are very simple. First, there is the question of proper management, in accordance with my legal obligations, of this important fishery in order to protect the long term interests of the fishermen and processors who benefit from the fishery. In addition, there is the issue of the distribution of the available catch for the year so as to maximise the returns to fishermen and processors.
As regards the first issue, it is clear to all that this fishery is a particularly difficult one to manage. There are elements involved who show no regard either to their own long term interests or to the interests of their fellow fishermen. If the management committee are to work effectively they require the full support of fishermen. Such support was not forthcoming this season. This led to a disruption of the fishing pattern and to an earlier than planned closure.
In this regard I would remind Deputies that the certain result of overfishing will be a collapse in the fishery, which could then be followed by a long period of closure so as to allow the fishery to recover. This would be a disaster for all concerned. Previous overfishing in the seventies led to just such a collapse and resulted in a five-year closure for the period 1977 to 1982.
I am determined to ensure that this will not happen again. This is largely an Irish fishery in which we have an 86 per cent share of the allowable catch. The stock at present is not in the strongest of states. The quota in 1989 was 17,280 tonnes. On the basis of the scientific advice available, the European Commission proposed, last December, that the quota be reduced to 12,960 tonnes. The Commission, in the light of a very strong and forceful case advanced by me, throughout the night, increased the final quota to 15,120 tonnes.
The tragedy of this fishery is that the annual quota could probably be kept up to about 17,000 tonnes on an ongoing basis if fishermen behaved responsibly. The danger, however, is that the quota will fall again in 1991 because of the over exploitation and excessive discarding and therefore killing, of herring that should be left in the sea.
My aim is to manage this fishery and in that regard to use all the powers at my disposal to allow the stocks and, therefore, the annual catch to improve. This will require tough decisions and I do not intend to shirk those decisions. My Department will be reviewing with the representatives of the industry recent developments with a view to improving further the management arrangements in 1991.
To conclude, the position now is that the fishery is closed and will remain closed until the end of December. There is no mechanism for bringing forward as Deputy Taylor-Quinn suggested any part of next year's allocation. I want to make it quite clear also that the full resources of my Department and the Navy will be used to protect this fishery in the light of what I have said, that the danger of it being over-fished could result in its closure again. Any fisherman illegally fishing must be prepared to meet the full rigours of the law.