I share the Deputy's concern and the concern of the Celtic Sea and north-western herring fishermen about the current state of the herring markets.
The two main herring fisheries in Ireland, the Celtic Sea and the North West fishery, are now in peak production and significant quantities of herring are being caught for processing and export. The prices in the autumn fisheries have been low, particularly when compared with the historically high prices which were available last year. This is a cause of major concern to the fishermen and to fish processors and exporters and is a matter I have been monitoring closely.
To understand the present position in the Irish herring fisheries it is necessary to explain the nature of the markets to which we export our herring products. The most valuable herring product is the herring roe which is primarily exported to Japan and the Far East. The other main product is whole herring and herring flaps which are exported primarily to the European markets.
The position in both these markets has been affected by the high volumes of supply which have entered the herring markets from the new Atlanto-Scandic herring fishery and from the major Canadian and United States fisheries. High levels of supply of herring roe to Japan from the North American herring fishery earlier this year, coupled with a carry over of herring roe in Japanese cold stores, has resulted in low demand and relatively low prices for herring roe coming from the Irish autumn fisheries. It is reported the Canadian roe fishery, which predates our autumn fishery, had a very good season and produced 3,000 tonnes of roe. This, combined with a reported 15,000 tonnes of roe in stock in Japan due to over supply last season, has resulted in Japan reducing the price of herring roe worldwide.
In addition, the recovery of the huge AtlantoScandic herring stock to the west and north of Norway has resulted in almost one and a half million tonnes of herring being fished in that fishery this year by Russia, Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands and a number of EU countries, including Ireland. For the first time ever Ireland had a quota of 12,000 tonnes in this fishery, which is almost totally fished. This volume of supply from the Atlanto Scandic herring fishery, which is over a million tonnes greater than it was three years ago, is having a depressing effect on global herring markets. Large volumes of Atlanto Scandic herring are finding their way into Dutch, German, Danish and eastern European markets and are reducing demand and price for herring. These factors are combining to impact on the returns to the fishermen in the Celtic Sea herring fishery.
The position in the Celtic Sea is that the autumn fishery was opened at the request of the industry on 5 October, with a remaining quota of 11,500 tonnes to be fished before the end of the year. It is being managed on a day to day basis by my Department's sea fishery officers. The total landings to date in the fishery, which is primarily a roe fishery, are about 1,800 tonnes. The quality of the roe in the fishery has improved this week and I hope that this will lead to improved prices. The total withdrawals of herring under the existing EU market support schemes has amounted to 81 tonnes since the opening of the autumn fishery. This means that 4.5 per cent of the landings have needed to use the withdrawal system. Given that withdrawals can run up to 14 per cent of the landings and that the maximum 6 per cent of landings which can be carried over has not been fully reached by all the producer organisations, there is still some scope for further use of the existing market support schemes if necessary. However, I hope that this will not be necessary.
My Department is monitoring the fishery and will impose a temporary closure if there is a temporary market collapse or if the fish landed is of poor quality. In this way, I intend that we will continue to manage the fishery to ensure maximum returns to the fishing industry from the available quotas. In addition to the management of the fishery, I would like to see continuing close co-operation between the catching and processing sectors to ensure that nationally we do all in our power to maximise the benefit of the industry to Ireland.
Deputy Sheehan has requested that I consider allocating a subsidy payable to the fishermen concerned on a short-term basis up to the end of each year. The position on this mater is that the payment of subsidies is governed by EU law. The guidelines for the examination of state aid to fisheries and aquaculture state clearly:
State aid that is calculated on the quantity produced or marketed, product prices, units produced or the means of production, and which has the effect of reducing the recipients' production costs or improving the recipients' income is, as operating aid, incompatible with the common market.
In short, this kind of income subsidy is ruled out under EU law and, therefore, it is not within my ambit to consider such a scheme.
In the circumstances I am most anxious that, as I indicated, to the extent it is necessary, we should make maximum use of existing market support schemes for herring. These allow for the withdrawal from the market of herring where it is offered for sale and does not make the minimum withdrawal price and the payment of a carry over subsidy where product is held over to be reintroduced to the market at a later stage. I am instructing my officials to assist the industry in relation to the utilisation of the existing schemes. In addition I intend to work intensively with Bord Iascaigh Mhara to open up markets for Irish herring products to ensure that a variety of market opportunities exist for Irish exporters. In this regard I will pay particular attention to the scope for increased exports to far eastern markets.
I will continue to press at European level to reduce the current level of preferential access to European markets which non-member states enjoy, as Deputy Sheehan pointed out, through the autonomous tariff quotas and tariff suspension schemes. Ireland has consistently opposed the opening of autonomous tariff quotas for herring imports and I intend to continue and strengthen this opposition at every opportunity. It is only through this co-ordinated series of actions at national and international level that this temporary downturn in prices for herring can be gradually reversed and the returns to the fishing industry restored.
