Vol. 408 No. 6
25 Mr. Garland asked the Minister for the Marine if he will outline the current law on the size of boats permitted to fish within the three mile limit; if this law is actively enforced; if so, the number of prosecutions which have taken place within the last five years; if he will consider reducing the size of boats permitted to fish within the three mile limit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Deputy is presumably referring to the restrictions which currently apply under national legislation to Irish boats above a specified size fishing within a three mile zone from baselines.
There is no specific law prohibiting vessels of a particular size from fishing within the three mile limit. It is nevertheless the position that, as a general guideline, vessels over 90 feet are precluded by the terms of their sea-fishing boat licence from fishing within these limits. These licence conditions are actively enforced although there have been no detentions or prosecutions for breaches of this specific licence condition within the past five years.
There are, however, a small number of vessels of over 90 feet which are not precluded from fishing within three miles. The question of further reducing the number and size of vessel permitted to fish within the three mile limit is kept under regular review by my Department. In general my Department favour encouraging and/or requiring the bigger, more powerful sector of the fleet, including all large vessels and particularly those over 90 feet, to move further offshore.
