Holly Cairns
Question:855. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to restrict the use of supertrawlers and factory ships in Irish territorial waters. [11454/22]
View answerTuesday, 1 March 2022
Questions (855, 868)
Holly Cairns
Question:868. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action he will take to mitigate harm caused by supertrawlers and factory ships on Irish fishing communities. [11780/22]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 855 and 868 together.
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is a set of rules for managing European fishing fleets and for conserving fish stocks. Under this policy, EU fishing fleets are given equal access to EU waters and fishing grounds subject to allocated fish quotas. Fishing vessels, irrespective of size, must comply with the rules of the CFP, including rules on access and catch limits/quota.
The terms "supertrawler" and "factory ship" are sometimes used to describe large fishing vessels targeting pelagic stocks such as mackerel, horse mackerel and herring. In particular, "factory ship or trawler" usually refers to vessels which process and freeze fish on board the vessel. As the Deputy will be aware, while the Irish fleet does not have "factory vessels", it does include very large fishing vessels targeting pelagic stocks which have the capacity to catch large quantities on a trip for processing in factories on land and which could be termed "supertrawlers".
In relation to access to Irish coastal waters, I would point out that all foreign fishing vessels, on the north-west coast, are excluded from Ireland's 12 mile fishing zone, other than for transit 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 36.58m (120 feet) in length are also precluded from fishing in Ireland's 12 mile zone.
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 Fisheries Zone to ensure compliance with the rules of the CFP. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, all operational issues of this nature concerning sea-fisheries control are, as a matter of law, exclusively for the SFPA and the Naval Service and I am expressly precluded from getting involved in operational matters.
Last year, the European Commission published a proposal to rollover, for another ten years, the provisions relating to the restrictions on access to Member States' 6-12 nautical miles zones, as set out in the CFP Regulation (Regulation (EU) No. 1380/2013). I secured Government approval last week to seek an extension of the zones around Ireland to 12 and 20 miles respectively. I believe that there is a strong case to be made to increase the protections for Ireland’s fishing fleets in these waters, particularly against the background of Brexit. I will now engage with Commissioner Sinkevicius, fellow Fishery Ministers and MEPs to seek to advance Ireland’s case on this matter.