asked Minister for the Marine if he or his Department has had discussions with Spanish fishing vessel owners regarding illegal fishing off our coast; if so, if he will outline the result of these discussions; the action he proposes to take; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Illegal Fishing.
2.
In April 1991 at the instigation of industry representatives in the south west a meeting was held with Spanish fishing boat interests. Officials of my Department attended the meeting as observers.
At that meeting the difficulties being experienced by fishermen in both countries arising from the illegal activities of unregistered Spanish boats fishing off the south west of Ireland were considered. In an effort to address these problems it was agreed that the Spanish interests would forward a list of boats fishing out of the major parts in northern Spain many of which they suspected to be fishing illegally in Irish waters. On examination in my Department of the list supplied it was found in fact that practically all the boats listed were licensed to fish in Irish waters. There have been no formal discussions with Spanish vessel owners regarding illegal fishing off our coasts.
I think it important to mention here the initiative taken by my predecessor, An Tánaiste, at the Council of Fisheries Ministers in April of last year when he sought positive action at Community level to address this serious problem of illegal fishing off the Irish coast. In response to this initiative a Community mechanism was put in place under which the five member states concerned and the Commission agreed to co-operate at operational level in monitoring the activities of unauthorised fishing boats. While this has led to some improvement in the monitoring of illegal operators, there is, in my view, room for further improvement in the systems currently in place.
At my request my Department, at last week's High Level Fisheries Group meeting in Lisbon, raised the matter of having regular meetings between the fisheries protection inspectorates of member states and the Commission with a view to, inter alia, strengthening and improving existing co-operation in the area of controlling illegal fishing activity. This suggestion received general support at the meeting and the incoming United Kingdom Presidency agreed to convene such a meeting of representatives of member states' fisheries inspectorates next September.
From my recent visits to fishing ports around the country I am very much aware of the grave concerns of Irish fishermen with regard to illegal fishing off our coast. I can assure the Deputy that I am committed to resolving this problem and I am confident that my most recent initiative will advance the achievement of this objective.
I would also like to stress that one of the most effective means of combating illegal fishing is through strict enforcement of Community fisheries law at sea. In this regard I wish to acknowledge the valuable work of the Irish Naval Service in protecting fish stocks off our coasts. Last year alone a total of 81 boats was detained by the Navy for suspected fisheries infringements. The operational effectiveness of our fisheries protection effort at sea will be further enhanced by new equipment and technology now being acquired by the Naval Service.
I thank the Minister for his very detailed reply and I welcome his initiatives in trying to curb piracy on our waters. I am sure the Minister will agree that we are again facing a season where there could be confrontation on the waters off our coast. Will the Minister confirm that 38 of the trawlers arrested last year were of Spanish origin? It appears, in spite of exploring every avenue to try to curb this kind of poaching, it is still prevalent in our waters. Will the Minister consider confiscating trawlers or — as I suggested to him on several occasions — much steeper fines?
The whole question of fines is being examined at EC level. However, the problem is that our fines tend to be higher and, therefore, we might not want a uniform approach. I can confirm, from the breakdown of arrests and detentions during 1991, that 36 trawlers were Spanish, nine were UK-Spanish and 48 Irish-Spanish.
We need to expedite matters if we are to dispose of the remaining questions.
Deputy Blaney rose.
I cannot hear Deputy Blaney because the procedure for dealing with Priority Questions — as Standing Orders ordain — means that only Members who table such questions may ask supplementaries.