Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 May 2024
211. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what supports he intends to introduce to support fishermen affected by the restrictions on directed fishing for pollack as is the case in the UK under its fisheries and seafood scheme. [19690/24]
View answerThe advice of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) for Pollack in Areas 6-7 (which includes the waters around Ireland) for 2024 is for zero catch. Following the conclusion of the EU-UK negotiations on 2024 fishing opportunities for shared stocks, the parties agreed on a limited, by-catch only TAC for Pollack in Areas 6-7 to avoid a "choke" situation which would lead to the premature closure of whitefish fisheries where Pollack is caught as a by-catch.
The European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) programme (2021 – 2027), is the primary source of funding for the Irish seafood sector. The objectives set out in the EMFAF Regulation align with those of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), and it makes no provision for the fund to be used to compensate fishers for reductions in quota. The UK is no longer a member of the European Union. As such its funding schemes for the seafood sector are not governed by the EMFAF Regulation.
Under our current EMFAF programme my Department is currently working with Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) to develop and implement funding supports for inshore fishers under a new Inshore Scheme, along with support for onboard investment in larger vessels under a new Sustainable Fisheries Scheme. BIM currently administer a Fleet Safety Scheme providing funding to fishers for safety items, and a Seafood Training Scheme (Fisheries), both of which are open for applications. Funding supports to fishers for economic diversification will also be available via the Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) in due course. My Department and BIM will also be engaging with the inshore sector to progress the development of a successor to the Strategy for Inshore Fisheries Sector 2019-2023 in the coming months, which will provide an opportunity to fully consider the challenges facing the inshore fleet and identify measures to mitigate these challenges.
