Fishermen's representatives are meeting the Taoiseach today to spell out the crisis facing their industry because of new EU regulations.
The fishing industry fears that rules barring trawlers in Co Donegal from catching fish more than nine days a month could be extended on a nationwide basis.
Mr Lorcan O'Cinneide, chief executive of the Irish Fish Producers' Organisation, said they were planning a series of talks with Mr Ahern and were aiming to raise the profile of the industry.
Last year's review of the EU common fisheries policy resulted in a sharp reduction of Ireland's catch quotas for white fish and cod stocks.
The trawlermen argue the EU should have targeted industrial-scale fishing practices rather than applying quota cuts at local levels.
Mr Sean O'Donovan of the Fishermen's Organisation in Killybegs said today: "We accept there is a need for conservation, but this regulation makes no sense. We also want a full financial package to cover the loss of earnings".
A spokesman for Bord Iascaigh Mhara said ahead of today's talks: "We are looking at a change in the traditional pattern of fish landings, and some species that in the past were very common may not be as plentiful for the domestic market in the future.
"The reduction could force Irish consumers to change their eating habits. Cod will still be available, but not as readily in the past, and more exotic types of fish could become popular," he said.
PA