P. J. Sheehan
Ceist:78 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the reason Ireland's mackerel quota is not distributed evenly between all pelagic fishing trawlers around the country. [28944/01]
Written Answers. - Fishing Industry Development.
As I indicated to the House on 11 October 2001, the arrangements in relation to the management of the mackerel quota have been in place for many years. These arrangements set individual catch limits for the 23 vessels in the dedicated pelagic segment of the Irish fleet which developed the Irish mackerel fishery over a number of decades.
The vessels outside of the pelagic segment have traditionally caught comparatively small amounts of the stock, normally less than 1,000 tonnes. In light of the developments in the fleet, I have recently reviewed the mackerel arrangements in conjunction with the industry. To reflect the changes in the fleet and to balance the interests of all parties in this fishery, I have decided to allocate 7,000 tonnes of quota mackerel to the vessels in the polyvalent segment of the fleet.