EU fisheries ministers have resisted pressure from the European Commission for large cuts in catches for next year. However, they backed cuts of around 5 per cent on 1998 figures for the more vulnerable species and fishing grounds.
With haddock in abundance in the Irish Sea, the Irish Minister, Dr Woods, was able with British support to secure substantial increases in the quotas for east coast fishermen, North and South.
Ministers agreed to a 7,000-tonne increase in the haddock catch after British and Irish ministers were allowed to treat some of the haddock as part of their allowable cod and whiting catches at the expense of the French and Belgians. Britain agreed that its extra allocation would go to Northern Ireland.
Dr Woods said the agreement would mean "significant haddock fishing opportunities for the fishermen of Kilkeel, Portavogie and Ardglass, as well as our own fishermen right around the coast, especially at Howth, Clogher Head and Kilmore Quay".
The extra catches will be worth some £2.5 million to the South and £2 million to the North.
"This is an excellent development in the new era of co-operation, not only on the whole island of Ireland, but also between the two islands," said Dr Woods. "Dublin, Belfast and London stood staunchly together."
A statement from the Minister said the results of the marathon talks would mean overall increases in quotas on those proposed by the Commission worth some £9.5 million to Irish fishermen, a somewhat notional figure akin to the savings made by a shopper in the sales.
Total Irish catches covered by the talks are worth some £110 million a year.
Compared to last year's catches, however, key Irish fisheries will see cuts to allow stocks to recuperate. Herring catches in the northwest will be cut 6 per cent to 19,090 tonnes, and in the Celtic Sea by 4 per cent to 18,140 tonnes. The cuts sought by the Commission were 32 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
In the key whitefish species - cod, haddock, hake, whiting and saithe - the Irish quota is cut overall by just 2 per cent to 32,755 tonnes on last year's catches. The Commission had proposed cuts of a fifth in the same categories. Yesterday morning officials were hoping to boost some of the Irish totals through the traditional post-council quota swaps with other delegations.
Meanwhile, the Minister has announced that he will host a seminar with the industry to discuss putting in place the new control measures also agreed at EU level. He said he would also be meeting the Spanish Fishery Minister, Mr Loyola de Palacio, in Dublin in January with a view to beginning work on a method of dealing with mutual problems in common fishing grounds.
Irish fishing industry representatives welcomed the Brussels deal as a victory for scientific advice over political opportunism but questioned what was described as a "spin" put on the outcome by Dr Woods.
"Talk about gilding the lily. I don't know where the Minister got a figure of £9.5 million from in relation to the value to Irish fishermen," said Mr Joey Murrin, chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation.
"However, this is probably the first time in many years that scientific advice on stocks has been taken seriously, and if the scientists are correct then we cannot quibble with that."
The pelagic fleet, already weathering the effect of rock-bottom mackerel prices, lost out on horse mackerel and on herring in the north-west. "If these quotas apply equally to everybody, we have to accept them," said Mr Murrin.
Mr Frank Doyle, secretary-general of the Irish Fishermen's Organisation, said the balance of scientific advice and an economic perspective had to be welcomed. "While one may disagree with scientists, the trend they are identifying cannot be ignored."