Common Fisheries Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2020

Tuesday, 8 December 2020

Questions (34)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Question:

34. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will advocate with his European Union counterparts for the EU to follow the lead of Australia in banning super-trawlers from national waters under the jurisdiction of the Common Fisheries Policy in response to the outrage in Irish coastal communities at the ongoing access to the exclusive economic zone being granted to super-trawlers and factory trawlers to fish there; and his views on whether this practice profoundly undermines the stated objectives of the Government and the European Union to maintain a sustainable fishery for coastal communities and to meet the environmental responsibilities of Ireland. [41616/20]

Oral answers (6 contributions)

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Will the Minister, with his European Union counterparts, advocate to follow the lead of Australia in banning super-trawlers from our national waters under the jurisdiction of the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, in response to the growing outrage in Irish coastal communities at the spectacle of these huge ships hoovering up fish while inshore fishing communities are struggling so much?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn for his question. As he will be aware, under the Common Fisheries Policy, EU fishing fleets are given equal access to EU waters and fishing grounds subject to allocated fish quotas.

Irrespective of size, fishing vessels must comply with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, which includes rules regarding access and catch limits or quota. With regard to access to Ireland's coastal waters by foreign vessels, I will point out that on the north-west coast, all foreign fishing vessels are excluded from Ireland's 12-mile fishing zone, other than for transit or shelter purposes. All foreign pelagic fishing vessels are also precluded from fishing in Ireland's 12-mile fishing zone on the west coast. Irish fishing vessels greater than or equal to 36.58 m in length are also precluded from fishing in Ireland's 12-mile zone.

Changes to fisheries policy involving access or restriction to fishing opportunities or fishing areas come within the sole competence of the European Union. Member states are permitted to introduce non-discriminatory measures within the 12-mile zone, subject to compliance with policy and procedures set down in the Common Fisheries Policy.

As an EU common policy, a proposal must, in the first instance, be made by the European Commission. Any proposal of this nature would be expected to have broad application in the context of EU waters and to apply to all fishing vessels of a particular size or using identified non-sustainable fishing gear. It appears that the Deputy's query relates to large fishing vessels targeting pelagic stocks such as mackerel, horse mackerel and herring. As he will be aware, the Irish fleet includes such fishing vessels. In respect of Ireland's position on any such proposal from the European Commission, it would be essential to have regard for the potential impacts on our fleet. Ireland's control authorities, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, and the Naval Service, are responsible for the monitoring and control of fishing vessels, including large fishing vessels targeting pelagic stocks, in our exclusive economic zone to ensure compliance with the rules of the EU Common Fisheries Policy.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

The Minister will be aware on 12 November last, it was reported that two Dutch-registered monster vessels were fishing off the Donegal coast. One was a super-trawler and the other was a factory ship. One was 470 ft long and the other was 414 ft long. They hoovered up fish. There are widespread concerns about sustainability. How can the Minister talk about sustainability of fisheries when vessels of this size are hoovering up fish? There are major concerns about discards going back into the sea. There is a lack of CCTV, observers or accountability to ensure that these vessels are catching what they are supposed to. It is difficult to take when we have given up 80% of the 1.2 million tonnes that are caught in Irish waters every year. We have given up 80% of the fish in that entire zone. The Minister needs to fight for Ireland's interests and seek to put an end to this practice.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

As a Deputy from a coastal county, no more so than Deputy Mac Lochlainn, protecting and trying to ensure the welfare and incomes of our fishermen is very important to me. That has never been more the case than at the moment in the context of the Brexit negotiations and the very solid and forthright campaign we have mounted working with our European maritime nation partners to try to ensure a good outcome from Brexit in terms of access to British waters and of maintaining our quota share.

The specific issue the Deputy raised, as I pointed out to him, concerns a European competence. If there are to be changes, they will have to be at European level and to apply to all European waters, not just outside of the Irish 12-mile zone. These vessels are precluded from entering the Irish 12-mile zone and that will continue into the future. As for developing the proposal further as part of the next Common Fisheries Policy, the Deputy will have to give thought to whether he proposes that this would apply to Irish vessels of similar catching capacity, of which there are many in our domestic fleet.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Let us deal with the 12-mile issue first. The exclusive economic zone of our country comprises 200 miles, not 12 miles. There are immense resources of fisheries outside the 12-mile limit and we have given up 80% of those.

In regard to the size of the ships, Australia has banned vessels of more than 120 m in length. I do not think there is any vessel of that size in the Irish fleet, although there was the infamous Atlantic Dawn a number of years ago. We need to be serious about sustainability. If we are telling our mid-sized fleet that fishes under producer organisations around our coast about sustainability and the need to protect the six-mile limit, how can we allow super trawlers of more than 120 m - some of the largest in the world - to hoover all species of fish out of the sea, with considerable quantities of discards? We know this is an appalling practice that undermines everything else we do. Will the Minister start the battle and the process of change among his European colleagues?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The sustainability of our fisheries is really important, so we must ensure that fishing is done at a sustainable level. While it provides good income for our fishermen today, we must ensure that the stocks will be there for the years ahead. The way that is done at European level is through a quota system, although it is highly contested at all times. There is a quota system that puts a limit on what can be fished from the sea by any vessel, irrespective of its size. Whether small or large, a vessel is restricted by its quota, which is set to ensure sustainability and that the quantity of fish taken out of the sea does not exceed the quota.

There is a distinction between the six-mile, 12-mile and 200-mile zones. Within the 12-mile zone, none of these vessels is allowed to fish. Outside the zone, the standard European rules apply. Our national competence agencies, the SFPA and the Naval Service, are charged with ensuring that there is oversight and implementation of the rules. It is particularly important for large vessels that there is strong oversight, as with all our fishing sector. That has to be applied to all vessels. To respond to the Deputy's wider point, sustainability is dictated by the quota share. I do not detract from the fact that this issue certainly brings out a great deal of emotion in people, and understandably so.