Minister of State for the Marine John Browne has welcomed an agreement reached in Luxembourg yesterday on a new €4 billion European fisheries fund.

The fund will cover investment in the sector across Europe from 2007 to 2013, following two years of negotiations and a failure to agree the package at council level last month.

Details of the package as it relates to Ireland still have to be finalised, but vessel decommissioning schemes, investments to improve safety and working conditions, along with fish hygiene and quality, will be eligible for grant aid.

The Minister of State has welcome inclusion of supports to encourage entry of young fishermen, and has described the package as a "leader-type" scheme for coastal communiites.

The Irish Farmers Association's aquaculture executive secretary, Richie Flynn, has welcomed inclusion of aquaculture in the deal.

"Irish aquaculture producers operate in a market without subsidies. The European fisheries fund will help small and medium-sized enterprises develop their businesses to surpass high EU standards of food safety and environmental management and push new boundaries to meet the challenges of increasing costs in the areas of fuel, labour and marketing," he said.

He urged the Government to ensure that negotiations begin immediately between industry and the authorities on the National Strategic Plan for Ireland for submission to the Commission as soon as possible.

Bord Iascaigh Mhara's annual review for last year, published late last week, notes that the "challenges" facing the industry - including rising fuel prices and shrinking quotas - resulted in a "significant" 24 per cent drop in landings to Irish ports last year.

However, the sea fisheries board's annual review for 2005 notes very healthy growth in the total retail market for fish, increasing by 5.5 per cent. The food service market is also up by 11 per cent, according to statistics for last year, according to the review.

The wholesale value of the food service sector is now estimated at €174 million, while retail sales of seafood were valued last year at €185 million in 2005.

The performance of the aquaculture sector was "on a par" with 2004, the review says.