Vol. 551 No. 2
30 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the amounts of vessel tonnage available for sale to fishermen on the current level of prices and on the level of demand for tonnage; his proposals to intervene in the market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10205/02]
Reliable data on the amount of tonnage capacity on the market is not readily available. Current fishing vessel licensing policy requires that 100% replacement capacity must be removed from the fishing boat register before a boat can be introduced. This policy reflects legal EU restrictions on the capacity of the fishing fleet in terms of both tonnage and engine power. National and EU fleet obligations for the last decade have therefore made replacement capacity a saleable commodity and created a lively market for it. Replacement capacity, for individual use or onward sale, becomes available when the owner of a registered fishing vessel removes it from the fishing boat register. There are currently no limits on the length of time for which capacity may be retained off the register. It is therefore difficult to gauge how much tonnage is either currently available on the market or may become available.
I am advised that the current commercial market price is about €4,000 per tonne in the polyvalent, or whitefish, fleet segment. The high price reflects commercial demand. Demand has been particularly buoyant since the introduction of the whitefish fleet renewal scheme in 1998. This trend is continuing due to the new whitefish fleet renewal and modernisation schemes for that sector. The new inshore fleet licensing scheme would create further limited market demand for tonnage. I am reviewing the scheme and will be discussing with the EU Commission scope for reducing the replacement capacity requirement to 50% under this scheme in the context of the creation of a new inshore fleet segment. This would reduce the overall cost to the fishermen in question.
It would not be appropriate for the State to intervene in the tonnage market to try to drive the cost down. The use of public aid to subsidise the cost of tonnage purchase is not permitted under EU regulations. Any capacity removed with public grant assistance is not generally permitted to be reintroduced into the fleet. The only mechanism for State intervention in the tonnage market is through decommissioning. This involves the payment of premiums to vessel owners to remove their vessels definitively from the fishing boat register and permanently decommission them.
Additional InformationCapacity associated with these vessels may not be redeployed in the fleet. The current grant aid rates for decommissioning which are set down in EU regulations suggest that a State decommissioning initiative would find it difficult to com pete with private enterprise in the tonnage market. A number of member states, including Ireland, have highlighted the need to review the rates at EU level.
I infer that the Minister thinks it would not be appropriate for the State to intervene in the market to drive down prices. Does he think it appropriate, wise or fair to intervene in the market in a way that is bound to drive up prices? Is the Minister not aware that his recent half-baked proposals on the licensing of inshore fishing boats will create extra demand by requiring that people acquire tonnage for the first time? Any effect this has on the market will be to drive the price to above the €4,000 per tonne which he mentioned. Is he now saying that he is not yet in a position to offer the modified scheme which he announced recently, under which he was to seek a replacement tonnage requirement of 50% rather than 100%, and that therefore the whole proposal he has made for the licensing of inshore boats must be put on ice until some response comes from the Commission?
Quite an amount of tonnage has been purchased on the market by small inshore fishermen since we introduced the concept of this scheme and it has not driven up the cost of tonnage because the amount of tonnage which will be required is quite small in comparison with the total tonnage requirement. I am quite satisfied and the advice available to me is that the requirement for small inshore fishermen to acquire tonnage will not drive up prices.
When the scheme was first introduced we wanted to provide a scheme under which small fishermen would pay the full cost of tonnage but it became evident that that was not acceptable to fishermen around the coast. We have now decided to amend that scheme to allow for a 50% replacement requirement. However, this is subject to EU Commission approval which we are currently seeking.
If the Minister obtains EU approval for the 50% tonnage requirement, what will the Minister say to inshore fishermen who, after his first announcement, went out and bought tonnage at the current level of €4,000 per tonne and who will now find themselves competing with people who can buy double the amount of tonnage at that rate?
If the Commission approves the measure, those fishermen who have purchased tonnage will only be required, when they register, to have half the tonnage they expected to get in the proposed new inshore sector. However, those who are already in the inshore sector must be considered. They have tonnage with an existing value. This is one of the factors which must be discussed with the EU because we do not want to reduce the value of tonnage and licences held by existing inshore fishermen. One aspect of this debate which has not been discussed is that there are several thousand inshore fishermen who are legally registered and have purchased tonnage. They are a silent majority who have been urging me not to give out tonnage free. That is what the Deputy and his party were urging me to do.
We must move to Question No. 31.
May I ask the Minister a brief question?
The Deputy must be brief.
Is the Minister, in the incoherent case being made by him, telling inshore fishermen who have recently purchased tonnage that they should not register it until he has concluded his discussions?
A brief reply from the Minister.
The closing date for the scheme is 28 March.
Is the Minister saying inshore fishermen should not register?
No application will be considered until after the closing date or until we have received EU approval for the scheme.
So they can all relax.
31 Mr. Sheehan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the overall dissatisfaction of inshore fishermen with his recently announced terms for the licensing of fishing vessels in the inshore fleet; and the steps he will take to scrap this proposed scheme and introduce a new scheme comparative with other EU countries. [10006/02]
I have given priority to the development of a new management and conservation framework for inshore fisheries. My objective is to ensure that inshore stocks are conserved and developed on a sustainable basis with the full involvement of all fishermen. As part of developing the new framework, BIM carried out a survey of inshore fishing activity around the coast. The survey found that a number of traditional inshore fishermen remained outside the licensing and registration system. Under national and EU law all sea-fishing boats are required to be licensed and registered. In the context of the new initiatives, it was clear that bona fide fishermen who remained outside the system for whatever reason should be given an opportunity to regularise their situation. I accordingly intro duced a new licensing scheme which would bring all fishermen into the framework. To facilitate their participation, the scheme offered fishermen the option of phasing their purchase of tonnage in three instalments.
We subsequently held a series of information meetings on the scheme. Reservations were expressed by a number of fishermen, principally on the grounds of affordability of tonnage and power. Opposition has also been expressed by licensed fishermen to the prospect of free access being given to those outside the system. Having reviewed all the concerns, I have decided to seek the approval of the EU Commission to an amended scheme. This would require fishermen to provide a maximum of 50% replacement capacity in the possible context of a stand alone inshore fleet segment. I will be concerned to ensure the assets of the vast majority of inshore fishermen already licensed and registered will not be negatively affected. My Department and BIM are reviewing inshore fleet frameworks in other EU member states which will usefully inform our discussions with the Commission.
I am revisiting, not abandoning, the new scheme and in doing so I am responding positively to the concerns raised. We must work to have inshore boats licensed and registered, as required under EU rules, and ensure inclusive participation in new inshore fisheries initiatives. The new strategic approach to the inshore sector, of which the inshore licensing scheme is one component, will have a very positive impact for coastal communities. Its success will, however, depend on the involvement and co-operation of all fishermen.
Is the Minister aware of the serious unrest among inshore fishermen? Does he have his ear to the ground regarding fisheries policy in Ireland? It is clearly evident, in southwest Cork and south Kerry, that small inshore fishermen cannot afford to pay the required €4,000 per tonne to register their boats. In France, an inshore fisherman with a boat of less than 12 metres can register and license his boat at a cost of €120 per year. It costs €180 to have a boat licensed in Spain. We must give some concession to the small inshore fisherman who is merely trying to make a living. Surely such fishermen should receive special concessions.
I ask that the Minister scrap the tonnage system for boats under 12 metres. Such fishermen, who are the backbone of the inshore fishing industry here, will find it hard to digest the fact that the Minister received an extra 14,000 tonnes for the Irish fleet and awarded it to one trawler owner. There is widespread concern about this issue. There is no way inshore fishermen, who can fish only a couple of days a year due to bad weather, can afford to pay €4,000 per tonne for fishing a punt or a half-deck trawler.
I wish to correct a serious misunderstanding on the part of Deputy Sheehan in respect of the Atlantic Dawn. The extra capacity awarded to the Atlantic Dawn is for fishing outside EU waters. The Deputy's remarks are incorrect.
The Minister gave it 8,500 tonnes.
The Atlantic Dawn can only fish the tonnage previously held by the Veronica. I am well aware of the concerns of the fishing sector. Such concerns have been raised with me in my constituency also. This is the first time a Minister has invested in the inshore fishing sector. Two years ago, before I took office, only £80,000 was spent in this area – only £20,000 was spent in this area by the Deputy's party when in Government. I invested £2 million in inshore fishing last year. This year, I intend to invest €3 million. For the first time ever, we are giving all genuine and serious fishermen in the inshore fishing fleet the opportunity to get involved in a management and conservation programme.
The vast majority of genuine fishermen have welcomed this scheme and a number of people from Deputy Sheehan's constituency in west Cork have applied to take part in it, as have fishermen in west Kerry.
The time allocated for this question has concluded.
I have received several letters from fishermen in the southwest urging me to move ahead with this scheme because good fishermen know this is the right thing to do.
We have gone well over the six minutes allowed for this question. We must move on to Question No. 32.
