In Ireland, fishing quotas are a public resource and are managed to ensure that property rights are not granted to individual operators. This is seen as a critical policy to ensure that quotas are not concentrated into the hands of large fishing companies whose owners have the financial resources to buy up such rights. It is worth noting that within the EU, a significant number of quota systems have been privatised for their main commercial stocks.
Any movement towards privatisation of fishing rights would seriously risk fishing vessels losing an economic link with Ireland’s coastal communities. This could have devastating consequences and Ministers continually work closely with the fishing industry to ensure this does not happen.
Consultation on the management of quotas within National Policy is carried out each month at the Quota Management Advisory Committee (QMAC) meeting involving fishing industry representatives from the catching and processing sectors, the Department and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA). The QMAC examines in detail the operation of each fishery, available quota and uptake patterns for the different metiers of fishing vessels. The recommendations of the QMAC are brought to my attention to inform my decision on the management arrangements within National Policy.
The Committee also has the possibility of recommending additional catch limits to incentivise the introduction of environmentally friendly fishing gear in particular fisheries or for particular types of vessels.
In December 2017, a quota balancing policy for pelagic stocks was developed with the QMAC as a conservation measure to align the principles of the landing obligation to Ireland’s quota management system. Quota balancing means that when a catch limit allocated to a vessel is exceeded, a balancing adjustment will be made from future allocations of fishing opportunities and will operate independently of any other action being considered by the control authorities. Pelagic stocks have been quota balanced for all years commencing in 2018.
Quota balancing for five key demersal (whitefish) stocks was implemented in 2020 and 2021. From 1 January 2022, four additional demersal stocks became subject to Quota Balancing.
