Vol. 460 No. 8
23 Mr. D. Wallace asked the Minister for the Marine the estimated total tonnage of fish stock in Irish territorial waters; if he will break down this statistic for the main fish species; the estimated fish catch within these waters each year; and the estimated percentage of total catch taken by the Irish-owned fleet. [1959/96]
24 Mr. D. Wallace asked the Minister for the Marine the total value of fish landed each year by the Irish fleet; and the comparative figure for each EU member state. [1958/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 24 together. National waters are not currently used as a basis for the compilation of fisheries statistics or stock assessments. Ireland along with other member states compiles sea fishery statistics in respect of Irish fishing vessels, and landings by foreign vessels into Irish ports, based on the statistical areas defined by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, commonly known as ICES, which co-ordinates fisheries research in the North-Eastern Atlantic.
These statistics are used by the EU and ourselves for scientific analysis, stock assessment, setting quotas and managing fisheries. The ICES areas, however, are designed to reflect the distribution of fisheries resources and do not correspond to national waters.
The basis, therefore, for firm estimates of total catches in Irish waters in the format sought by the Deputy is not currently available. I would certainly agree that a greater level of detailed data on fish stocks broken down along the lines suggested is a valid and essential objective.
In the meantime the details of the 1996 total allowable catches and individual member states' quotas by species for each of the ICES areas, which were set at the December Fisheries Council are due to be officially published in mid February. I will forward the published details to the Deputy as soon as they are available.
I advised the House in a reply last November of details of landings by Irish vessels in 1994 in respect of all species. I am arranging for landing statistics 1986-94 to be forwarded to the Deputy. Similar statistics for 1995 are currently being finalised and I will also provide these to the Deputy as soon as they come to hand. The statistics give the volume and value of landings by Irish vessels into both domestic and foreign ports. In 1994 the volume of sea fish landed by Irish boats was 291,215 tonnes, valued at over £108 million.
Details of the volume of landings of each of the member states are available on a monthly basis. Data relating to the value of landings is not published by the EU and would have to be requested from each member state on an individual basis. We will endeavour to assist the Deputy with this information requirement.
There is still an enormous amount of work to be done in compiling a reliable common database in all aspects of EU fisheries including fish stocks, catches, landings and sales. The situation is improving but there is still a long way to go, particularly at EU level, as the Commission will acknowledge, to ensure that a comprehensive statistical basis on all aspects of the sector is available to fully inform assessments and decisions on future management strategies.
I thank the Minister for his response. How does he assess the performance of the Marine Institute? What are the main findings of fish conservation? What amount is provided for marine research?
It was a very wise decision to set up the Marine Institute which is doing exceptionally valuable work. It is building up its resources and in the short, medium and long-term will be of particular benefit to Ireland in terms of the development of the marine resource. I do not have details of the allocation for this year, but I can get the figure for the Deputy from the Estimates.
Much improvement is necessary regarding the scientific evidence available to us when deciding, particularly at the December Council meeting, on the total allowable catches and, ultimately, the quotas allocated to member states. We are assisted in that work by the Marine Institute. We also get scientific assistance in the Department of the Marine and from Europe. There are constant disputes resulting from differences between the scientific evidence produced by the Commission in negotiations and that presented by fishing organisations. I have made it clear that Ireland sees it as essential that the Commission continue to improve the overall scientific evidence available to it to properly assess the state of the various stocks in EU waters. This is a little haphazard at the moment although by and large the scientific evidence has been fairly accurate.
If catches contain only young fish, stocks will be in trouble; one does not need to be a great scientist to understand this. We are deeply concerned that people will forget about rules and regulations and begin to trawl and catch young fish because of the lack of scientific evidence and the demands on fishermen to make a living. If this happens the future of the industry will be destroyed. In this country and at EU level we must improve the scientific evidence available to us so that it will be acceptable to the various organisations and member states.
Does the Minister agree it is almost impossible to formulate a policy in this area without scientific information? This has been approached in a haphazard way, to use the Minister's own words, by the various sectors. This is a serious issue for the fishing industry in Ireland, particularly when scientific information on fishing grounds is of the utmost importance. Will the Minister indicate if this matter is being treated by him with the urgency it deserves? It is very serious for the future of our fishing industry if undersized fish are being caught in our waters.
At the December EU fisheries Council meeting I made it clear that conservation will be one of Ireland's priorities during our Presidency of the EU. We were the first member state to put conservation proposals to the Commission and we are endeavouring to have these agreed at EU level. We led the debate on conservation and will continue to do so. We must persuade member states that it is essential to agree at EU level a set of conservation proposals which will ensure the long-term viability of the fishing industry in Europe. A great deal can be done and people can still make a decent living if we are sensible about the manner in which we protect our stocks, particularly our young and small fish. We will continue to lead the charge with regard to the availability of accurate information and to seeking agreement on conservation proposals which will ultimately benefit the fishing industry in Ireland, which is our primary concern.
What investment and resources, if any, are being provided to modernise the Irish fishing fleet, which is undersized and very old?
Under the operational programme £30 million is being provided for modernisation. Some £9 million of this will be provided by the EU, £1.5 million from the Exchequer and the balance from the industry. The programme in this country will be reviewed this year. The previous Government decided how much money would be allocated to each operational programme. I felt that the fishing programme could have been given more from the total allocation. I will try to divert money to fisheries, whether to infrastructure or the modernisation of our fleet, and to make provision for young people to enter the industry.
We are spending a great deal of money on training young people in the industry but they find it difficult to be in a position to skipper their own trawler or to make a fair living. I do not want a situation similar to that of taxi licences whereby young people will be excluded. To develop the industry we need to attract young people to it. The training we have provided for them will go to waste and will be availed of by other countries unless we find some mechanism of giving them an opportunity to enter the industry in a big way.
