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Fish Quotas

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 December 2013

Thursday, 12 December 2013

Questions (19)

Martin Ferris

Question:

19. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the EU calculation of fishing quotas is not supported by adequate research and that in these circumstances the calculations of maximum sustainable yields is unreliable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53107/13]

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Written answers

The annual fishing opportunities for the Community’s fishing fleets are traditionally agreed at the December Fisheries Council. This year, the arrangements for 2013 are due to be negotiated at the Council scheduled for 16th and 17th of December. The levels of Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and the quotas for Ireland will again be determined at that meeting following negotiations with Member States and the EU Commission. The Fisheries Council will also decide on the fishing effort, which determines days spent at sea, available for the Irish fleet in the Irish Sea and off the north-west coast for 2014.

The Commission’s proposals are based on formal advice received from ICES, the independent international body with responsibility for advising on the state of fish stocks. It also takes account of the views of the (STECF) Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, which gives the Commission its views on the economic, technical and social impacts of the scientific advice. .

As a general principal, Ireland is committed to having Total Allowable Catches set at levels that can produce Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) by 2015, where possible and by 2020 at the latest. This is consistent with the newly reformed Common Fisheries Policy. A core objective of the Common Fisheries Policy is to ensure exploitation of living aquatic resources that provides sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions". Under the ongoing reform of the CFP, the goal of attaining fishing mortality rates that are consistent with delivering maximum sustainable yield by 2015 has been set. While achieving this through the regulation of catches (TACs) may be relatively straight-forward in the context of a single species fishery; in multi-gear, multi-species and multi-fleet fisheries using single species, TAC constraints are complex and challenging.

The basis for Ireland’s assessment of the biological impacts of the Commission’s proposal for fixing 2014 fishing opportunities is the Stock Book. The Stock Book is produced annually by the Marine Institute and provides up to date scientific information, including ICES advice, on the state of the fisheries resources exploited by the Irish fleet. The Stock Book has been published by the Marine Institute since 1993 and has evolved considerably in that time period. It continues to evolve in a changing fisheries advisory environment.

Data collection and evaluation to support the advice provides is collected by Ireland and other Member States involved in a fishery. I consider that the EU should support increased funding for data collection and I am strongly pursuing increased EU funding for this area under the new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund currently under negotiation at EU level.

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