Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2020
998. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of bluefin tuna that were caught in Irish fishing waters and landed here in the past five years; the monetary value of the fish; the locations where they were landed; the vessels they were caught from; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26895/20]
View answerThe data requested by the Deputy is held by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and I have referred the query to them for direct written response to the Deputy.
However, it should be noted that Ireland does not have a national quota for Bluefin tuna. A small Bluefin by-catch quota is available to Ireland, primarily for use in our important Northern Albacore Tuna fishery and Celtic Sea herring fishery where there can be Bluefin tuna by-catch. This by-catch quota is also available to other Member States in the European Union.
A Catch-Tag-Release science-based fishery for authorised recreational angling vessels has been in place since 2019. The project, which was developed by Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Marine Institute in partnership with the SFPA, the Department for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and my Department, will allow the Marine Institute and Inland Fisheries Ireland to collect valuable data on the migratory patterns of Bluefin tuna in Irish waters in a tightly controlled environment.
