Robert Molloy
Question:19 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for the Marine the total amount of money spent on research on fish stock assessment by his Department in 1996; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23808/96]
Other Questions. - Fish Stock Assessment Cost.
Funding of £1,464,030 was provided in the 1996 Estimates to cover the cost of fish stock assessment programmes by the Fisheries Research Centre which is now an integral part of the Marine Institute. Thirty-two persons are employed on this work.
The FRC maintains research programmes on 44 stocks of fish and shellfish of key economic interest to the Irish fishing industry, including mackerel, herring, cod, whiting, monkfish, prawns and shrimps.
Fish stock assessment programmes are carried out through catch data collected on an ongoing basis by FRC scientists and technicians at fishing ports. Coverage under the national sampling programme has been considerably enhanced in recent years with EU funding support. Seagoing surveys are also a crucial component of the assessment work by giving a cross-check on stock size and the abundance of juvenile fish. The FRC has carried out 16 seagoing surveys to date in 1996. Of these, five were on chartered commercial fishing vessels, eight on the national research vessel Lough Beltra, and four on the Northern Ireland research vessel Lough Foyle. The co-operation of the fishing industry in these programmes is a critical factor in their success.
Other current projects under way in the FRC which have obtained EU funding support include the investigation of new fisheries resources in the deep waters west of Ireland, mapping of herring spawning grounds and work on alternative methods of scientific stock assessment. FRC scientists collaborate closely with EU and international colleagues in the work of joint scientific assessments of many of the fish stocks which are spread over a wide geographic area. This work is carried out under the aegis of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea which reports annually on the state of the fish stocks to governments, the EU Commission and international fisheries organisations. This international scientific advice underpins and informs ongoing management and conservation decisions taken by EU Ministers and, notably, the annual process of setting total allowable catches and quotas for each stock for the following year.
At national level we are applying a significant amount of resources to fisheries research and the efficiency and effectiveness of those programmes is being kept under review. At EU level, there is recognition of the need for further improvement and development of fisheries research and the Council of Minister agreed earlier this year to give renewed priority to improved fisheries data collection and to encourage better co-operation and co-ordination between member states, their scientists and the fishing industry itself. The prudent management of fisheries and then sustainable development depends very considerably on the quality and quantity of scientific and research input. My policy objective, therefore, both nationally and at EU level, is to support and encourage an effective fisheries research capability in the interests of the fishing industry and the fisheries resource itself.