Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021
2472. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of French vessels inspected, detained, prosecuted and fined for fishing infringements within Ireland’s territorial waters EEZ from 2010 to date; the amount of fish quota French vessels caught in the same waters during the period in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18678/21]
View answerI should advise the Deputy that the monitoring and control of fishing vessels within Ireland’s Exclusive Fisheries Zone are law enforcement matters for the Irish control authorities. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 2006, all operational issues of this nature are exclusively for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Naval Service. I am expressly precluded from getting involved in operational matters such as those referred to by the Deputy.
Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy's requests to the SFPA for attention and direct reply.
