A vessel may not engage in sea fishing unless it has been licensed in accordance with section 222B, as amended, of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959. The Department has no evidence that vessels without entitlements to beam trawl are so doing. If the Deputy has evidence of such activities, the Department would be glad to investigate.
As I advised in my reply to the Deputy's Question No. 92 of 4 April 2000, there are a number of vessels in the polyvalent segment of the fishing fleet which are not precluded by the terms of their sea fishing boat licences from fishing by means of beam trawls, or which are permitted to engage in beam trawling for a proportion of their fishing time.
Complaints have been received by my Department from fishermen using other types of gear about alleged damage to fishing grounds caused by vessels which engage in beam trawling. These criticisms are not accepted, however, by representatives of the beam trawling sector.
To build better co-operation and consultation between fishermen using different types of gear in shared fisheries my Department has encouraged meetings between beam trawler owners and other fishermen. We will facilitate further discussions, with a view to assisting both groups to achieve a common understanding on issues of mutual interest and concern.