Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 16 Apr 1997

Vol. 477 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - Fishing Patrol.

Mr. J. Walsh

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of the Marine for coming into the House to respond to the concern of the fishing industry off the south west coast in relation to the inadequacy of fishing patrols, in particular the position in regard to the modus operandi of flagships in the region. There is an excellent fishing industry in that peninsular area such as that at Castletownbere, the Bantry mussels industry, Union Hall, its processing facility in Skibbereen, Schull, Courtmacsherry and Kinsale. It is vital that it be adequately supported and protected.

However, 150 flagships are operating off that coast, 12 of which are registered in Ireland, as I was informed in reply to a parliamentary question last week. In Question No. 340 on 8 April, I inquired about the volume of the catch and was informed that the information currently available related to direct landings into Ireland. The Minister informed me that his Department was currently compiling information in regard to landings into other member states and said he would communicate with me as soon as possible. I have not yet received a response from his Department, which is not good enough.

Again in reply to a parliamentary question I was informed by the Department of the Marine that the average age of vessels in our fishing fleet is just over 24 years — they compete with some 150 flagships — that we have a total of only seven vessels patrolling the area of which one is undergoing a major overhaul to replace and refurbish obsolete and deteriorated equipment to extend its operational life and another will undergo similar refurbishment commencing in August next. In other words, we have a fishing industry that is inadequately equipped and supported, in terms of patrols to protect our fleet and ensure that the rammings and terrorisation perpetrated by these flagships off our south west coast is stamped out once and for all.

Regrettably, a fisherman, Danny Boy O'Driscoll, lost his life in one of those rammings a few weeks ago, the circumstances of which remain unclear. We know that a British registered, 32 metre Spanish longliner called The Sea Horse collided with the late Mr. O'Driscoll's 16 metre Exodus. The Spanish vessel was not licensed to fish in that area and had a record of two previous detentions by our Navel Service in Irish waters.

I express my sympathy to the O'Driscoll family, to the entire fishing industry and those involved in it off our south west coast. I want the Minister of State to give me a categoric assurance that there will be adequate patrol vessels and that his Department will give a serious commitment to ensuring that this valuable fishing resource is protected. Regrettably, yesterday's agreement in which the Minister acquiesced does not augur well for the future. I want the report which was promised following the investigation of this recent collision to be made publicly available. To date nothing has been seen of the report on the loss of the Carrickatine or the Jenalisa incident which took place a couple of years ago.

The industry is less than impressed with the support it is receiving. I look forward to a positive response from the Minister of State.

Mr. Gilmore

I assure the House the Government takes a very grave view of anything which poses a risk to the safety of Irish fishermen.

All fishing activity in the Irish 200 mile zone is monitored through a co-ordinated fishery control programme involving the Air Corps, Naval Service and the Department of the Marine. There is close liaison between the Department and the Naval Service to ensure there is a high level of surveillance patrolling by the Naval Service in areas where there are particular concentrations of fishing activity.

The position in relation to the south-south-west coast is that at least one naval vessel is on patrol in that area at any given time and other naval vessels in transit to patrol areas elsewhere off the coast are available to assist in fishery protection and other operations in this area.

An indication of the level of naval presence is provided by the current level of surveillance inspections carried out by patrol vessels. Since the beginning of the year a total of 329 vessels was boarded. While the main objective of patrols is to protect fish stocks through the enforcement of fishery regulations, the presence of Naval Service vessels also acts as a deterrent against dangerous or reckless behaviour.

Ireland employs significant resources on fishery protection in our waters. Over £35 million is spent by the Naval Service each year and over 1,000 are employed in the service. Ireland has seven patrol vessels and two state of the art CASA fishery surveillance aircraft have been deployed since 1994 at a cost of £35 million. Over £5 million is spent by the Air Corps on fishery protection activity each year. The two Air Corps CASA aircraft overfly waters each day to identify vessels and monitor fishing activity. Where specific aerial surveillance is required in a given area the CASA can be tasked at short notice to this area; the Department of the Marine employs 18 landbased fisheries inspectors and is in the process of recruiting a further ten inspectors. Between all the services Ireland is spending over £40 million a year in operational costs protecting the fish stocks in our waters.

This year the European Union will provide £6 million to Ireland for the purpose of both capital and operating expenditure on fishery protection. The planned capital expenditure for Naval Service, Air Corps and the Department of the Marine will continue the job of equipping and supporting the protection services to high standards of efficiency, effectiveness and capability.

Specific items of investment this year will include a total refit for an existing vessel and the development of a new high technology system for the CASA surveillance planes which will allow high level identification of all fishing vessels through the use of the fishing vessels' radar signature. Plans are well advanced for the purchase of a new state of the art fishery patrol vessel. Tenders for the new naval vessel are being evaluated.

The Department of the Marine will seek to investigate all incidents reported to it and cases on which it receives detailed reports from the Naval Service. Where incidents are formally reported to the Department it would seek to get signed statements outlining the nature of any incident. In a number of other cases in recent years, it has been possible to obtain such statements identifying the vessels involved in the alleged incidents. If, on the basis of these statements, the Department considers that malicious or dangerous actions have occurred, a strong formal complaint is conveyed via the Department of Foreign Affairs to the flag state of the vessel involved.

In the past it has proved difficult to identify vessels involved in incidents occurring during the hours of darkness. Similarly, in instances where unattended gear has been damaged it has proved impossible to know whether the damage was the result of accidental or deliberate action or which vessel was involved.

Deputies will appreciate the difficulties in pursuing these matters satisfactorily in the absence of hard evidence. This problem was borne out in an alleged incident off the south-west coast. On 14 March the LE Ciara responded to a request relating to an alleged illegal ramming incident reported by the captain of a UK registered fishing vessel, the Holly Jane.

A statement was taken from the captain of the vessel but he was not able to identify the vessel which allegedly rammed his vessel. The area was searched but no evidence was discovered which could facilitate any further investigation of the incident.

The legal position is that offences committed by foreign vessels outside our jurisdiction are dealt with by informing the flag state and asking that appropriate action be taken. This procedure will be pursued assiduously in all substantiated cases and the adequacy of the naval presence in the area of contention will continue to be monitored. In this way, it is hoped a repetition of the unfortunate incidents which have occurred in the past will be avoided. Everything in our power will be done to protect the safety and wellbeing of Irish fishermen.

The Dáil adjourned at 10.55 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 17 April 1997.