The European Commission has cut back the number of mackerel Ireland is allowed to catch because of illegal fishing, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey said after a meeting in Brussels.
The Minister also said the European Commission did not reiterate its preference for administrative penalties over criminal penalties for fishermen who act illegally, but said it was up to member states to decide how to deal with them.
The commission imposed the penalty on quotas of Irish mackerel - which form the bulk of the Irish fishing industry - after it was discovered that 41,241 tonnes of the fish were illegally caught between 2001-2005. This total will be clawed back when it is deducted from Ireland's future quotas.
This year alone Ireland's quota will be cut by 6,391 tonnes - the amount of mackerel illegally caught last year. This will reduce Ireland's current catch quota of 47,000 tonnes, which was set last December.
It has not yet been decided when the remaining 35,000 tonnes of illegal fishing will come off Ireland's quotas, Mr Dempsey said yesterday after a meeting with the Fisheries Commissioner, Joe Borg. Although the commission has the power to deduct recent illegal fishing hauls from a member state's overall yearly quota, it was not clear where they stood legally on deducting illegal hauls going back years, Mr Dempsey added.
The illegal Irish hauls were discovered during police raids after being landed in the Peterhead and Shetland ports in Scotland. Several Irish vessels were involved in the illegal catches worth more than €40 million and investigations into the activity are ongoing in Scotland.
The cut in the national quota means people who did not engage in illegal activity will be penalised. "Maybe that's a useful lesson for everybody in the industry that they shouldn't tolerate any illegal fishing," Mr Dempsey said.
Ireland may also face fines, but the Minister said he would be stressing changes that have been made, such as a new independent regulatory body and new computer system for tracking fishing, introduced to help Ireland comply with EU obligations. "We hope to be able to make a convincing case that things have changed," Mr Dempsey said.
Ireland already faces four proceedings by the EU over the control of fishing which may also result in fines, the Minister said. The Department of the Marine itself has been subject of a European Court of Justice ruling over inefficiencies in reporting fish data. The commission is to decide shortly if any penalties are to be imposed arising out of this.
During a discussion on the controversial Sea Fisheries and Marine Jurisdiction Bill, currently before the Dáil, the commissioner said his preference was for an efficient system of sanctions against people engaged in illegal fishing. "He was very insistent it was up to each member state to do what they felt was right in their circumstances," Mr Dempsey said.
The commissioner was familiar with restrictions under the Irish Constitution on imposing administrative sanctions, Mr Dempsey added.