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.
Vol. 442 No. 4
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.
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.