My Department has not proposed that boats fishing between the coast and the six-mile limit line within the south Wexford-east Waterford inshore area should be restricted to 400 lobster and crab pots per boat. However, I am advised that two local inshore fishermen's co-operatives, the South Wexford Lobster Co-op and the East Waterford Lobster Co-op, have sought support from inshore fishermen in the area for a voluntary limit on pot numbers inside the six-mile limit.
I have asked Bord Iascaigh Mhara, BIM, to work with local inshore groups with a view to putting in place an effective management and conservation measure for inshore stocks around the coast. I understand that BIM is working actively with local groups and will be considering appropriate measures for inshore stocks in the area.