With regard to the problems brought to the attention of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources during its recent visit to Ireland's premier fishing port, I have not been formally advised of these by the committee. I am, of course, fully aware of the prevailing concerns of the industry in the area.
For many years, County Donegal, and in particular the Killybegs area, has been to the forefront of the Irish fishing industry, and has been a vital source of permanent and seasonal employment opportunities in coastal communities, as well as boosting the local economy through ancillary industries. As the Deputy will be aware, the fishing industry in Europe and elsewhere is generally experiencing some difficulties at the present time in relation to a number of fish stocks. The primary challenge facing the fishing industry at the present time concerns the need for effective conservation measures to provide for the sustainable exploitation of these stocks into the future.
The industry in Donegal is, of course, significantly based on pelagic stocks. While the Irish quota for mackerel has been reduced for 2005, I secured a very substantial increase in the quota for blue whiting on top of the increase achieved for 2004. I have asked BIM to work closely with industry to develop a significant human consumption market for vessels landing blue whiting into Irish ports in order to maximise the benefits of this fishery. I am pleased that during the spring fishery a considerable volume of blue whiting has been processed for the human consumption market.
EU measures to strengthen control in pelagic fisheries introduced in 2004 as a consequence of concerns about illegal landings right across Europe remain in place. The effective implementation of these measures is critical to ensure the medium to long-term sustainability of fish stocks and to maximise the market prices for vessel owners respecting quota allocations. In this regard I have pursued some technical changes to the current control regime that take account of the particular situation of the Irish industry which I expect will be brought forward by the Commission in the near future. Quotas for demersal species in area VI, north-west coast, have been declining over more than a decade. A long-term cod recovery plan was introduced in 2004 to promote recovery of the cod stock in this area. I believe that the recovery plan allied to the industry led initiative involving the closure of codling fishing grounds off the Greencastle coast in County Donegal, which were introduced in 2003, will help rebuild this stock and will also contribute to the recovery of the whitefish stocks under pressure in this area. Notwithstanding recent difficulties in the south-west Donegal region, I am therefore confident Killybegs will maintain its pre-eminent position as Ireland's premier fishing port in the future and remain an economic lynchpin of the area.
