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Fishing Industry

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 March 2022

Tuesday, 29 March 2022

Questions (874)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Question:

874. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the quota allocated to the Irish fishing fleet in the Polish EEZ under the Common Fisheries Policy, by species, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16280/22]

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Written answers

Under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), EU fishing fleets are given equal access to EU waters and fishing grounds subject to allocated fish quotas. There are derogations to this access rule including restrictions on access to Member States' coastal waters.

Quotas for the various stocks are allocated for management areas - that is, an ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Seas) area or a part thereof - and not Member States' EEZs. Generally, most stock areas straddle more than one EEZ area. These stock areas can include Member States' EEZs, third countries' EEZs and international waters.

The share allocation of stocks between Member States was established as a principle of the first CFP in 1983 and was based on the average catch of each Member State over a period of reference years (track record). The only exception to this relates to the Hague Preferences, based on a special recognition agreement of the underdeveloped nature of the Irish fleet and the heavy control responsibility on us when Ireland joined the EU. The share out of TACs set in more recent years has also been mainly based on track record, the most recent of these of importance to Ireland has been boarfish.

Thirteen Member States have joined the European Union in the past 20 years. Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined in 2004. Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007 and Croatia joined in 2013. Of these Member States, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have small quota allocations for some widely distributed stocks in Western Waters, which includes the waters around Ireland. Ireland does not have quotas in Polish waters.

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