During August up to 30 vessels from the Japanese blue fin tuna fleet fishing in international waters just outside the exclusive economic zone were subject to continuous monitoring by the fisheries protection service.
Two Japanese vessels were detained during the period on charges of illegal fishing and illegal entry and the cases will come before the courts in due course. Pending the hearing of those cases the Deputy will appreciate the need for circumspection in any statement to guard against prejudicing the proceedings.
The north Atlantic blue fin tuna fishery is a highly specialised year round activity conducted in international waters. It should not be confused with the albacore tuna fishery in which a number of EU fleets including Ireland participate to varying degrees in the summer months. It is targeted in particular by a dedicated Japanese fishing fleet which is highly integrated in terms of fishing, processing and delivery of the tuna product back to the lucrative Japanese market. The presence, for a short period this summer, of that fleet at the edge of the EEZ was untypical and reflected the particular migratory pattern of the tuna this year. I should note that the scope for developing Irish participation in the international blue fin tuna fishery is very limited given the highly specialised techniques and logistics involved and the long range nature of the fishery. This was confirmed in the past in experimental trials carried out by BIM.
