Joe Walsh
Ceist:339 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for the Marine the number of flagships which fish in Irish coastal waters; the total volume of their catch in 1996; and the plans, if any, he has to reduce this number. [9129/97]
Vol. 477 No. 2
339 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for the Marine the number of flagships which fish in Irish coastal waters; the total volume of their catch in 1996; and the plans, if any, he has to reduce this number. [9129/97]
I am extremely concerned about the flagship problem from a number of perspectives, notably the very serious difficulties of control and enforcement arising from their activities in our waters and the fact that flagships benefit from national quotas without providing real economic benefits for the fishing communities of the flag State. There are approximately 150 flagships operating in these waters. The majority are registered in the UK, there are 12 on the Irish register and some registered in France and Germany. They are owned, crewed and operated by companies or individuals in other EU member states, mostly Spain and their catch is mainly landed into other member states, which imposes particular enforcement problems.