The European Union (Birds and Natural Habitats) (Sea-fisheries) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 290 of 2013 as amended by S.I. 565 of 2014) provides processes for the assessment and management of sea-fisheries activities to ensure that the activities are compatible with the objectives of the Birds and Habitats Directives. A number of assessments have been concluded to date in accordance with the regulations and Fisheries Natura Declarations have been introduced to manage certain sea-fisheries, taking account of the conclusions of these assessments. I understand that the Marine Institute has conducted these assessments in accordance with best scientific practice and recommended methodologies where available.
In response to the ECJ judgment in case C-418/04, multi-annual funding was made available by both my Department and the former Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to undertake data collection and baseline studies. This work is now substantially complete and my Department continues to provide funding for, inter alia, assessments of the interactions of sea-fisheries and aquaculture with marine Natura 2000 sites. The allocation of other resources involved is an operational matter for the Marine Institute. The Programme of Measures responding to case C-418/04 sets out the actions taken to date by Ireland in response to the Judgment of the Court together with commitments for further action to ensure that remaining issues have been dealt with. The preparation of the Programme and monitoring of its implementation is led by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
The majority of the marine Natura 2000 sites concerned are coastal and located within Ireland's 12 nautical mile limit. I established the National Inshore Fisheries Forum (NIFF), built on a network of Regional Inshore Fisheries Forums (RIFFs), specifically to give inshore fishermen and their communities a voice in policy making and decisions on inshore fisheries management and to work with the Department and the marine agencies in developing robust, scientifically sound measures to support sustainable fisheries into the future. The first meeting of the NIFF took place on 15 January and the delegates received a presentation from the Marine Institute on the processes involved in the preparation of the assessment reports.
In addition to those assessments already published, the Marine Institute has recently submitted an assessment of sea-fisheries in all marine Special Areas of Conservation on the south and west coasts which is currently under active consideration in my Department. A prioritised approach is necessary to address an assessment of this scale and I am particularly conscious of the need for stakeholder engagement at all stages of this policy development in accordance with EU environmental legislation and the Common Fisheries Policy. For this reason, my Department is working closely with the Marine Institute, the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority and an Bord Iascaigh Mhara to prepare a draft prioritised approach which I look forward to publishing with the assessment report for public consultation and for discussion with the NIFF.
A number of the documents requested by the Deputy are publically available on websites including the Department's fishing portal website and the websites of other organisations. For the Deputy's ease of reference, the current links are listed in the following table.
Title
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Web
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Assessments and other documents concerning the management of sea-fisheries interactions with Natura 200 sites
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http://www.fishingnet.ie/sea-fisheriesinnaturaareas/
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Programme of Measures for case C-418/04 submitted to the EU Commission
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http://www.ahg.gov.ie/en/Heritage/ProgrammeofMeasuresbyIrelandtoensurecomplianceintheECJBirdsCase/
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Guidance on management measures and methodology for assessment sea-fisheries impact on marine Natura 2000 sites
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http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/marine/index_en.htm
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