THE Minister for the Marine said yesterday he was determined the report of the Fishing Vessel Safety Review Group would not "gather dust". The Review Group was set up by Mr Barrett after the sinking last year of the Carrickatine, the Scarlet Buccaneer and the Jenalisa.
Mr Barrett told the Fish Ireland 1996 exhibition in Killybegs, Co Donegal, he was sending copies of the report to all skippers/owners of registered Irish fishing vessels. It was clear from the report that "we all have to take action if we are to eliminate the tragedies which have become a scourge of our fishing communities".
A greater safety culture needed to be created in the industry, he said. Although the report represented a watershed for safety in the industry, he would be "practical" in allowing people time to achieve the significantly higher safety standards recommended.
Regarding Irish priorities for the industry during the EU presidency, Mr Barrett said, he agreed with the European Commission's concern about fish stocks but disagreed with its solution, across the board cuts for all fleets. "I have objected to this in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable in the context of the Irish fishing fleet and it will not work".
Instead, he added, the cuts which needed to be made should be directed at the fleets which "exert undue effect on stocks".
Mr Barrett said Ireland would host a meeting of senior EU fishery officials in September to discuss how controls on illegal fishing might be exercised. He would also seek agreement on proposals to improve the conservation of fish stocks.
Mr Andrew Ward, chairman of Foyle Fishermen's Co op, said the whitefish sector had been neglected by successive governments and they would not allow themselves to become a scapegoat for the failures of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Mr Barrett said he did not wish to delay decisions on the renewal of the whitefish fleet. "However, neither do I want to introduce a policy, as happened in some countries, which encourages people to buy whitefish boats which are not viable and might be repossessed."