Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
1937. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the fishing capacity of the bottom grown mussel sector in Ireland and the resources available to it were last assessed and made public with reference to Article 22 of Regulation EU 2013-1380 on The Common Fisheries Policy in relation to the rightsizing of fishing fleets to match the available resource. [13891/21]
View answerArticle 22 of EU Regulation 1380/2013 requires Member States to report on the annual capacity of their fishing fleets. The majority of vessels in the Irish bottom grown mussel sector are registered in the aquaculture segment of the Irish fishing fleet which is not included in the capacity ceiling for the Irish fishing fleet and, accordingly, is not subject to an entry/exit regime.
Vessels in the Aquaculture Segment are restricted to use in the management, development and servicing of aquaculture areas. As part of a service to aquaculture installations, such vessels may collect mussel seed, subject to certain restrictions. In the case of those vessels registered in other segments, these would be reported under the appropriate segment.
