The Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation says it is seeking an urgent explanation from the Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey, following the EU's decision to allow the €63.49 million Euro Irish supertrawler, Atlantic Dawn, to fish in European waters.
The deal, brokered by the Minister's Department with the European Commission, was finalised late last week after 18 months of negotiations and controversy. The 144-metre supertrawler, the largest of its type in Europe, is now fully licensed and registered as part of the Irish fishing fleet. It is also on the EU fishing vessel register.
Mr Jason Whooley of the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation said there was "major disquiet" among his members, most of whom had no problem with the decision to allow the vessel to register, once it was not working in EU waters. "We had understood that the vessel was going to avail of international opportunities, but the permission to fish within the EU could have very serious implications in relation to licensing arrangements and conservation of stocks," he said.
The organisation would be raising it as an urgent issue when it met Mr Fahey this week, he said. However, Mr Seán O'Donoghue, chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation , said he had no difficulty with the deal as he expected the vessel would continue to fish off west Africa.
The vessel, built and owned by Mr Kevin McHugh of Killybegs, Co Donegal, has been fishing off west Africa under a private agreement with the Mauritanian government. Mr McHugh's company, Atlantic Dawn Ltd, has agreed to withdraw his second supertrawler, the Veronica, from the Irish/EU fishing fleet and it is registering in Panama.
Mr Fahey says that while the company will be using the Atlantic Dawn to take up the Veronica's entitlements, it will be "continuing primarily to focus attention on developing sustainable fishing opportunities elsewhere".
He has emphasised that the involvement of Irish and other EU fishing vessels in the fisheries of developing countries "must be based on sustainability of fish stocks" and the indigenous communities dependent on them.
In a separate development, Mr Fahey has been forced to amend a scheme aimed at regulating small boat owners under pressure from party colleagues. Two Donegal-based party representatives - Connacht Ulster MEP Mr Pat the Cope Gallagher and the Minister of State for Arts, Heritage, the Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms Mary Coughlan - have criticised the Minister for introducing the measures.