Efforts to trim quota reductions at EU fish talks

Talks on reducing the amount of fish caught in the EU continue today with Ireland trying to improve on a proposed 15 per cent reduction in the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for white fish in Irish waters.

The Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries Pat "the Cope" Gallagher, says his mission is to secure the highest possible quota for the Irish sea fishing sector in the context of necessary sustainability measures.

Mr Gallagher said the outcome of the talks "will impact enormously on Ireland's fishing fleet, not only in 2006 but also into future years".

"The fishing industry continues to be of importance in Ireland especially for those coastal communities, where incomes are lower and alternative employment is limited. This is why we must do our best to secure a sustainable future for the fishing industry," said Mr Gallagher.

The talks in Brussels are expected to last into the night as ministers barter concessions which often have little or no direct influence on their national interest amid dire warnings that stocks of Ireland's primary catch, white fish, are now dangerously-depleted.

There is particular concern about cod stocks though haddock, whiting, plaice and herring are also likely to be the subject of reduced quotas.

The European Commission has stopped short of recommending a total ban on cod fishing in the North Sea, Irish Sea and off the west coast of Scotland, despite the advice of experts to close worst-hit fishing grounds entirely.

The Green Party's Eamon Ryan today said the scientific advice should be heeded and that the "short-term interests of certain fishermen" should not be put above the need to sustain stocks.

"The only reason why the European Commission is proposing 15 per cent cuts in the quotas for our main fish stocks is because they have been systematically overfished in our waters," Mr Ryan said.

However, representative groups which are with Mr Gallagher at the talks, are warn that current proposals on cuts and limits on the number of days at sea will make it impossible for many boats to remain viable.

The Commission is seeking a 15 per cent cut in cod, sole, plaice and prawn catches; 12 per cent cut in North Sea haddock quotas and a 15 per cent cut in days at sea.

Successive years of EU conservation measures have included larger net meshes to allow immature fish back into the sea to spawn, tougher policing of catch limits at sea and on the dockside, and de-commissioning of vessels with cash inducements to fishermen to find alternative jobs.

But every year the scientific advice reflects the apparent failure of any moves to restock the seas.

The Commission regularly blames EU governments for insisting on fish catch quotas as much as a third higher than recommended, and then failing to monitor whatever limits are set, leaving fishermen to exceed quotas.

Last July the French government was fined €14 million by the European Court of Justice for failing to enforce current EU rules on the size of fishing nets.