Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
1132. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how the blue whiting quota is distributed among the Irish fleet; and if he will explain the rationale behind this distribution. [17431/23]
View answer1134. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the rationale for the allocation of 9% of the blue whiting quota to the polyvalent feet in comparison to the 91% allocated to the 23 Refrigerated Seawater vessels. [17433/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1132 and 1134 together.
The Blue Whiting fisheries quota management policy is established policy and was put in place following a public consultation process in June 2014. The 2014 policy put in place sets down a clear, transparent, and fair process for the management of the blue whiting fishery.
In 2014, the Minister published a consultation document on the management arrangements and sought the views of the industry representative bodies on the paper. This consultation document was prepared taking account of the views submitted by Industry representative bodies, the existing sharing arrangements between segments, and the internal segment management arrangements, together with the history of the fishery and its future potential.
The Minister recognised the increased interest from the polyvalent vessels and increased the share allocated to this segment from 6% to 9%.
