Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 February 2018
38. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the 2018 total allowable catches, TACs, and quotas for Ireland’s fishing sector as agreed at the December 2017 Fisheries Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7131/18]
View answerAfter an intensive two days of negotiations, I managed to secure a total package of fish quotas worth €266 million for Irish fisherman for 2018. This included an 8% increase in the value of whitefish quotas leading to a new total of €152 million for the quota. Ireland’s quota for prawns also increased by 15% in 2018, which is the biggest single increase in over a decade and shows the very healthy state of this stock.
The rebuilding of many other stocks was also demonstrated by a 34% increase in our whitefish quotas off the North-West coast and a 64% increase in the Irish Sea. These are both areas that were severely depleted just five years ago. This shows that the many years of intensive, industry led conservation measures are paying off. The work done to rebuild these stocks has led to significant increases for quotas for our fleets.
While we did have cuts in stocks including haddock and whiting in the Celtic Sea, these cuts followed the scientific advice to ensure a sustainable fishery. In terms of the herring stock in the Celtic Sea, the reduction applied was in accordance with the provisions of the industry led management plan for the stock. This management plan provides that reductions are applied to give time to allow the stock to rebuild thus supporting the fishery in the longer term.
A very difficult aspect of the proposal concerned our recreational sea bass fishery. The Commission had originally sought a complete ban on angling for 6 months of 2018. After long discussions I argued successfully for a year round ‘catch and release’ fishery instead that would not endanger the stock while protecting an important tourism resource.
While there was a number of difficult issues, I am satisfied that this was a sustainable and balanced result overall. Last December’s Council was another important step towards the objective of having all stocks fished at maximum sustainable yield levels by 2020. The steps taken this year will continue our progress to rebuild our fish stocks which underpin the future of our industry and our coastal communities.
