Vol. 542 No. 1
34 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he has allocated licences to fishing vessels in the south-west with an express condition that RSW tanks should not be used; if so, the reason for this condition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23418/01]
Under national fleet policy, which derives from legal EU obligations, fishing vessels with refrigerated sea water – RSW – tanks have been confined to the dedicated pelagic segment of the fishing fleet. The introduction of new RSW tank boats to the pelagic segment requires 100% replacement capacity.
Applications were received in 1999 and 2000 to introduce RSW tank boats into the multi-purpose whitefish segment in order to fish for herring and mackerel. Given fundamental policy and technical implications, the conditions of licences granted to these applicants required the prior decommissioning of the RSW tanks. The applicants accepted licences with the precondition.
Pending a review of licensing policy and all other relevant considerations, a moratorium on the introduction of vessels with tanks, either functioning or non-functioning, into the whitefish fleet was put in place in February 2001.
Question No. 35 answered with Question No. 30.
