Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2017
180. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the practice of pair trawling will cease (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51371/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe practice of pair trawling in inshore waters and estuaries, including Kenmare Bay, around Ireland involves fishing for sprat. The Irish Wildlife Trust also identifies sprat as the target species for this activity. The central objective of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is to ensure that fishing and aquaculture activities are environmentally sustainable in the long term through the conservation and sustainable exploitation of marine biological resources and the management of fisheries and fleets exploiting such resources. Ireland is strongly committed to ensuring the conservation of the marine life around our coast through the Birds and Habitats Directive, among other instruments.
As previously advised, the Marine Institute is committed to working closely with Industry to obtain increased observer coverage in the sprat fisheries. In previous years, the observer coverage sampling was only about 1-2 trips per year. 10 such observer trips have taken place in 2017 and landings are also sampled by port staff ashore. The Marine institute are continuing to work to cover additional trips in the coming weeks.
The purpose of the observer scheme is to obtain biological information on the resource itself and on any other fishery bycatch, i.e. herring, juvenile mackerel, etc. It also aims to gather information on any bycatch this fishery might have of protected, endangered and threatened species, under the European maritime and fisheries fund (EMFF) marine biodiversity scheme such as marine mammals, seabirds and listed fish species.
It is expected that these projects/observer schemes will allow for more intensive data collection and enhanced scientific knowledge on any and all possible affects pair trawling has on other fish stocks and the environment as a whole.
