Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 May 2022
285. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way that the current distribution of the mackerel allocation aligns with the State’s obligations under Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23878/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am fully satisfied that the obligations set down in Article 17 of Regulation 1380/2013 are being met. As the Deputy will be aware, in Ireland, fishing quotas, including quotas for pelagic stocks such as Mackerel, are a public resource and are administered to provide for the proper management and conservation and rational exploitation of fishing stocks. It is worth noting that within the EU, most quota systems have been privatised for their main commercial stocks. In Ireland, allocations are not owned by the vessel and when an allocation is not fished, it cannot be transferred to another boat but is returned to the State for redistribution to the fleet in the normal way. The substantial advantage from a macro perspective of these arrangements is that it supports an Irish-owned and operated fleet which makes the bulk of its landings to Irish ports and bases its operations in Ireland. If the fleet were not Irish owned, there would likely be a rapid concentration of ownership in a small number of international companies which are not likely to operate from Ireland and may not have any commercial links with Ireland. The result of this long-standing policy is that the Irish fishing fleet involves a balanced spread of sizes and types of fishing vessels who have retained a strong economic link with our coastal communities and have delivered economic activity including vital employment in these communities, where there are limited alternative economic activities.
Atlantic Mackerel is a widely distributed, migratory pelagic fish that inhabits much of the north-eastern Atlantic shelf. The setting of Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas each year for this stock is based on annual scientific advice by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and given the international dimension of this stock, TACs are set within the relevant international fora.
Management arrangements for the State’s fisheries, including the Mackerel fishery, have been set and developed over many years since the commencement of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the introduction of quotas. Pelagic stocks such as Mackerel are managed on an annual or seasonal basis with catch limits set based on allocation regimes developed over many years and related to historical catch records. Amendments to the mackerel policy in 2010 and 2017 were introduced following a full review and public consultation. It should be noted that the 2017 policy is subject to a legal challenge in the Courts.
Consultation on the management of quotas within National Policy is carried out each month at the Quota Management Advisory Committee (QMAC) meeting involving fishing industry representatives from the catching and processing sectors, the Department and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA). The QMAC operates by examining in detail the operation of each fishery, available quota and uptake patterns for the different metiers of fishing vessels. There are detailed discussions each month in respect of the various fisheries taking account of the divergent situation of the fleet and of the market. The purpose of these meetings is to make recommendations to me on the management of particular stocks within national policy and, as far as possible, I follow their recommendations, subject to the proper management and rational exploitation of our fisheries. Any issues relating to the management of the Mackerel quota allocation as set down in National Policy, where relevant, are discussed by the QMAC and recommendations are brought to my attention to inform my decision.
As recommended by the QMAC, National Policy for Quota Balancing has been put in place to support the landing obligation for both demersal and pelagic stocks including Mackerel. Quota balancing is a conservation measure that aids industry in matching available quota to actual catch so that incentives to discard are reduced. Quota balancing by the Department operates independent of any action being considered or taken by the control authorities. Where a vessel exceeds its catch limit, a balancing adjustment is made from future allocations of fishing opportunities. Furthermore, where a vessel has reported landings of a pelagic stock for which it does not hold a valid authorisation/notification at the time of the fishing operation, such landings will be subject to quota balancing and a balancing adjustment is made from a future allocation of a fishing opportunity.
