Vol. 414 No. 4
31 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for the Marine if he will grant a licence to fish for herring and mackerel to a person (details supplied) in County Waterford in respect of his boat Star of Nazareth which was purchased with the aid of EC and FEOGA funds.
I refer the Deputy to the answer given to a grievance question on this matter on Tuesday, 3 December last. As was pointed out on that occasion, this case involves a change of ownership within the fleet. As a result, the individual in question was not required to withdraw any vessels from the current sea fishing boat register as replacement tonnage and horsepower, as is the case when an application is made to bring a vessel into the fleet for the first time. As the vessel was over 65 feet in length, however, the issuing of a new sea fishing boat licence was necessary. Under present policy licences to fish for herring and mackerel are generally only granted where the vessel being transferred or replaced had not only an entitlement to fish for these species but also an active history of fishing for them. This was not the case with this particular vessel. Accordingly, a licence was granted to the applicant but it contained a condition precluding fishing for herring and mackerel.
The policy in relation to the granting of herring and mackerel licences exists for the very good reason that there is already over-capacity in this section of the fleet. The granting of such a licence to a vessel which may have had an entitlement to fish for these species, but had not been actively used for that purpose, would effectively increase capacity in this section of the fleet.
I should remind the Deputy that the individual in question was allowed to transfer the herring entitlement of his other vessel, which is temporarily out of commission as the result of a fire, to this vessel on an interim basis. As a result he has been allowed to take part in the autumn fishery in the Celtic Sea.
