Noel Cawley tells Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent, of challenges ahead in implementing a strategy involving significant rationalisation in commercial fishing.
When a Government Minister calls in the consultants, expertise may be just one of the necessary qualities. Others may include the ability to make difficult recommendations which can be conveniently shelved, watered down or radically altered, and the willingness to take the blame if politically expedient to do so.
Recite that list to Noel Cawley in relation to his most recent assignment and he may tell you he fails on all counts. "I didn't know the difference between pelagic and demersal when I started," the former Irish Dairy Board chief executive says of the Government's new €600 million, six-year strategy for the seafood industry which he drew up.
Having retired after 17 challenging years with the dairy board, he was looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Anita, his farm and his horses in Kildare when the phone rang last June.
The fact he didn't need the work - or the fee, which is rumoured to have been very small - is reflected in a comprehensive document which was produced in record time with his fellow review group colleagues, former Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO) chief executive Joey Murrin, and former Údarás na Gaeltachta chief executive Ruan Ó Bric. He confirms that the final version is almost identical to that submitted to Government last November. "Of course, the department wanted to make lots of changes and there were things it wasn't happy with. But there's no point in promising an independent study if you don't then do just that."
Born on a small dairy farm at Gurteen, Co Sligo, Dr Cawley was educated at St Nathy's in Ballaghadereen, Co Roscommon, and took a degree in chemistry at NUI Galway and a PhD in science in UCD. While at UCD, and at the University of California in Berkeley, he worked with Guinness Ireland and then moved to the company's English base.
He returned home after several years to work with Bord Bainne, initially as development scientist and latterly as managing director. He has been a director of Bord Bia, member of Ibec's executive council, chairman of the Irish Horse Board, and part of the high-level group on the future of farming "post-Fischler", established by the Government in 2004.
The "Cawley strategy" which Taoiseach Bertie Ahern committed the Government to last Sunday is the first of its type and had been promised many times by many administrations and parties (including Fianna Fáil when in opposition 10 years ago).
It was a stated commitment in the 2002 programme for government, but was only commissioned after last year's bitter row over the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill - and after Fine Gael had published its own marine policy for the forthcoming general election.
However, the strategy will have a shelf-life beyond the election, both as part of the new National Development Plan - and because Dr Cawley has been asked to chair the group which will implement it. This was not something he had planned, but the loss of seven lives in last month's fishing vessel sinkings affected him deeply.
"Safety was not something that had come up much during the regional meetings we had with the industry last year to prepare this," he says. "In fact, I heard a number of mentions about how much better vessels were now compared to a decade ago."
However, economic survival was a constant refrain, at a time of declining stocks and quotas, and rising fuel prices. The report cites international estimates that over half of all stocks are exploited, and a further 25 per cent are either over-exploited or depleted.
Fish constitutes a renewable resource if managed properly, but the fact Ireland's waters are part of the European "blue pond", administered by a seriously flawed and highly politicised EU Common Fisheries Policy, was and is outside the review group's terms of reference.
The cost of that flawed system is acknowledged, however. Irish waters contain some of the most productive fishing grounds in the EU. In 2004, total catch by all fleets within the Irish exclusive economic zone was 700,000 tonnes of fish, valued at €500 million. "The greater proportion of this was taken by non-Irish vessels," the report notes.
International demand for seafood is constantly rising, and the EU market is now 74 per cent dependent on imports from non-EU states.
While acknowledging "an enormous sense of grievance" on the part of a sector employing 11,600 people in coastal areas, Dr Cawley was determined to look forward. "It is very complex, and when I came up with daft notions I had Joey Murrin to tell me they were off the wall."
Bord Iascaigh Mhara, which provided secretariat for the document, was invaluable, he says.
"There were issues with Brussels and illegal fishing, but I met so many fine, decent people during those consultations and you often wonder why departments can't go out more and meet and explain. Whereas farmers own their land, fishermen don't. This makes the uncertainty for them all that much greater."
The new strategy involves significant rationalisation of the commercial fishing industry, and expansion of aquaculture under a €212 million development plan.
Some 10 per cent of the whitefish fleet over 18 metres in length has been decommissioned, and the strategy aims to extend this to 45 per cent of capacity. The hitherto very profitable pelagic (mackerel/herring) fleet will also require "internal restructuring".
Quota management will then be devolved, and a more efficient landing and distribution infrastructure will be established in co-operation with Bord Iascaigh Mhara. A strong marketing focus includes developing export markets and establishing a "seafood island" identity for Irish produce. Currently France, Britain, Spain, Germany and Italy buy some 70 per cent of seafood caught or grown here.
During his time with the dairy board, most of Dr Cawley's staff were based abroad, with some 1,500 in the US alone.
"We could see the demand for fish, but most of what we distributed to US supermarkets was not Irish. The Irish fishing industry has virtually no access to that market, unlike the likes of Goodman and Dawn which have a direct line in."
The global success of Kerrygold shows that branding is essential, but it can take up to 20 years to establish, he says. "However, if we get the mentality going which extends beyond the factory and the quay wall, we could see significant benefits."
A responsible approach to conservation and environment could also yield fruits in terms of sales, given consumer awareness about these issues.
Lack of co-ordination among State agencies involved with seafood is highlighted in the report, but Dr Cawley professes to being surprised at the poor relationship between the industry and the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources which deteriorated significantly last year. "We had never witnessed this on the agribusiness side, where the department worked actively to foster good relationships, which had significant benefits when it came to lobbying in Brussels."
He believes the dual developmental and regulatory functions of the marine department were always going to be a source of conflict, but also believes the department - initially forgotten about by the Taoiseach when forming the new cabinet in 2002 - is under-resourced. A new independent regulatory agency based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, should allow for more focus on policy and planning, he says.
Dr Cawley is aware of the pain involved for people who have lived for fishing and who are not automatically going to switch to alternative occupations like fish farming. "It's a lifestyle occupation for so many," he says. "The people themselves have to be given the priority."
Factfile
Name:Dr Noel Cawley
Age:61
Position:retired Irish Dairy Board chief executive
Education:Science degree from NUI, Galway and PhD from University College Dublin
Family:Married with two adult daughters. Lives in Kildare
Hobbies:Horses - showjumping and racing; GAA; golf
Why he is in the news:He has been appointed chair of the Government's implementation group for a €600 million national seafood strategy under the National Development Plan, which he drew up. Some €334 million of public funds has been committed to match private sector funding of €263 million over six years.
