Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2024
1724. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide a breakdown of this year’s fishing quotas, and the allocation of each species to inshore fishers and line fishers, in tabular form. [33500/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn Ireland, quotas are a public resource and are managed to ensure that property rights are not granted to individual operators. 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 very limited alternative economic activities.
Our fish quota management system is designed to ensure the best possible spread, both between fishing vessel operators and in terms of take up of quota throughout the year, having regard to fishing patterns and market conditions.
Quotas are generally managed on a monthly basis, with catch limits being set for each month.
Catch limits are not set on the basis of whether a vessel is an inshore or offshore vessel as such. In the case of Whitefish (Demersal) quotas, monthly catch limits are set for vessels over and under 55 feet in length. Pelagic stocks (such as Mackerel, Blue Whiting, Herring etc.) are managed in line with the policies for those fisheries, which specify how the quota is allocated to the various sectors of the fleet operating in the individual fisheries. These sectors are often defined by the types of gear used, for example the Mackerel Hook & Line Fishery, there is a specific allocation for vessels fishing by means of hooks and lines. The specific allocation for each fishery is provided in the monthly Fishery Management Notices which are available on my Department's website from the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/b7667-fisheries-management-notices-2024/
Consultation 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, which provides up-to-date catch data for stocks.
The document at the following link provides a breakdown of Ireland's quota for 2024 by species, as set out in the annual Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and Quota Regulation. The figures in the table do not include quota carried over from 2023 or quota swapped to or from other Member States or the UK.
