Enda Kenny
Ceist:51 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for the Marine his views on whether the Irish Sea has been overfished; and the proposals, if any, he has to deal with this problem.
Written Answers. - Irish Sea Fish Stocks.
While I would accept that fish stocks in the Irish Sea are seriously depleted, I can assure the Deputy that the need to address this problem is being given a high priority. The Department of the Marine has been working closely with the UK fishery authorities on the introduction of conservation measures to safeguard and regenerate Irish Sea stocks in order to preserve a sustainable livelihood for the fishermen who fish in those waters.
Most recently both the Irish and UK authorities have introduced a requirement that all prawn trawls must have square mesh panels which allows immature white fish to escape. This will eliminate discards in the prawn fishery, which for the Irish fleet alone, were estimated to be of the order of 5,000 tonnes per annum. In addition the Irish and UK authorities have retained a minimum landing size for Irish Sea Whiting 17 per cent above the approved norm of 23cm. These measures will help to ensure that young fish survive to spawn.
New legislation to increase and extend the powers of sea fishery protection officers which will enable them to seek the confiscation of illegal nets irrespective of whether they are found on board a vessel or ashore is currently going through the House.
The Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, the second stage of which was taken on 13 April last, will also increase the prospect that persistent offenders may have their vessels confiscated by the courts. In addition, I intend to introduce an amendment on Committee Stage which will increase the maximum fine for having on board undersize nets, from £10,000 to £50,000. In addition, over the past year the Department has more than doubled the number of fishery protection officers based on the east coast.
These deterrents combined with the other conservation measures, either planned or already in place, will help to address the ongoing problem of fish stocks both in the Irish Sea and in other Irish waters.