Vol. 490 No. 5
101 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he has approached the Dutch Government outlining his concerns in relation to the refusal of the ship owners to allow EU observers aboard their freezer vessels in an attempt to circumvent EU fishery controls; if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of the Irish pelagic fishermen; and the action, if any, he intends to take on the matter. [10827/98]
I am aware of Irish pelagic fishermens' concerns in relation to the operation of freezer vessels in pelagic fisheries and I have been supportive of initiatives at European level to address the issues. In that context, the fisheries agreement concluded between the European Community and Norway in December 1997 for 1998 contains a provision that the parties would discuss, with a view to implementing during 1998, a series of measures aimed at improving the control and enforcement of the mackerel fishery. Such measures are to include, as one element, a pilot project on additional control elements combining satellite tracking and on-board observers to apply to a limited number of larger vessels. The present position is that the proposed set of measures, including the pilot project, are under discussion between the European Commission and the Norwegian authorities and no definitive decisions on implementation have been made.
If the Deputy has any specific complaints in relation to the Dutch shipowners, I would be grateful if he could furnish my Department with the relevant details.
