Communities to control fisheries development

Coastal communities will be able to force the closure of bays or estuaries used for fisheries development if there are genuine fears about threats to the marine environment, according to a National Development Plan programme published by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey.

Financial support for sustainable fisheries management and conservation measures will allow communities to take this step - if there is agreement and sufficient evidence to back it up. Several pilot projects on inshore fisheries management already in place in Cos Galway, Wexford and Kerry aim to allow communities to have a direct input, the Minister said in Galway last week when he outlined details of the programme.

The £30 million plan involves £20 million in EU grant aid for projects that seek to add value to the national catch. There hasn't been anything quite like it before, and there is a strong emphasis on devolved responsibility for inshore areas.

Bord Iascaigh Mhara will administer it, and its fleet development manager, Mr Michael Keatinge, isn't expecting a deluge of requests in the morning to shut down bays. "The background to this is our own report, two years ago, which highlighted the neglect of inshore areas for which we have responsibility. "We may complain about Europe's Common Fisheries Policy offshore, but it is up to us to manage our own resource within the 12-mile limit," said Mr Keatinge. The key word is consensus, and funding under the programme for several initiatives, including sustainable fisheries management, and collection of basic data (particularly where there is a concern about stocks) is intended to underpin this. "We are not intending to exclude development - such as fish farming, for instance - but to be inclusive and find a balance, for everyone's benefit."

The programme covers eight main areas and includes grant-aid for electronic trading and other information technology initiatives; small-scale coastal fisheries and producer organisations which want to implement plans to improve quality and added value; quality certification, traceability and working conditions; collection of basic data and preparation of environment management models for fisheries; and sustainable fisheries management and experimental technical conservation measures.

Grant aid will be available at up to 100 per cent for public projects deemed to be in the collective interests of the fishing industry and carried out by public bodies or research institutions; up to 80 per cent for contributory projects; and up to 60 per cent for private projects. As an example, small co-ops lacking ice facilities, and ports seeking to introduce electronic auctioning stand to benefit.

The Minister's announcement was almost marred by a simmering row over the second part of the programme - a similar sum of money for fleet development. However, Mr Fahey said he would announce this measure "shortly".

Mr Sean O'Donoghue, of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation, said it was essential to have the two parts of the programme. "Otherwise it is putting the cart before the horse," he said in Galway. The second tranche will involve grant-aid for new fishing vessels over and under 15 metres long - with special focus on the smaller boats.

The initiative has been agreed, but requires State aid approval. Government officials say the delay is in Brussels.

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