An urgent independent review of fishing restrictions, which fishing communities around the country claim are causing severe hardship, has been announced by the Minister for the Marine this evening.
Pat the Cope Gallagher has announced the appointment of Padraic White, former chief executive of the IDA, to complete a review of the decommissioning requirements for Irish fishing fleets.
“Padraic has previously worked closely with the fishing industry and is very familiar with all the issues involved,” the Minister said..
Mr White will examine decommissioning requirements for the demersal and shellfish fleets including the situation in the scallop fleet.
The aim is to ultimately establish a better balance between fleet size and available fishing entitlements, the Minister said.
“Due to the extreme urgency of the situation I have asked Mr White to report to me by the end of June. I fully accept the difficulty and hardship that is clearly being experienced in fishing communities around the coast because of declining fish stocks and the impact of conservation measures."
He said the report will be made available to the stakeholders and the general public.
Last night the fishermen's deadline for action passed, but they have decided to await a response from Minister of State at the Department of the Marine Pat "the Cope" Gallagher before deciding on any further protests.
Last weekend fishermen blocked the exit of the Rosslare Europort in Wexford and Waterford port with their trawlers - affecting over 1,500 passengers - to highlight the new fishing restrictions imposed by the Government.
The fishermen, who were mainly from Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford, were joined by local fish factory workers to protest over the bank holiday at the new EU regulations cutting the number of days at sea for boats.
They are seeking an aid package of between €4 million and €5 million to allow some of the fishermen buy their way out of the business, releasing a larger quota of fishing days for those left in the sector.
Fishermen said the restrictions would limit them to eight days trawling per month for the rest of the year - and seriously endangering their livelihoods.
Fish processors have warned that up to 500 factory jobs in the Kilmore area may also be lost if the Government does not tackle the problem.
The Labour Party's spokesman on the marine Tommy Broughan called for the resolution of the dispute today and an end to further disruption to Irish ports.
"When I raised the difficulties of the scallop fishermen in May in the Dail with the Minister, it was clear that one of the key issues was that the present allowable scallop catch level, established in June 2004, was calculated on the basis of an average figure from the years 1998 to 2002. This was a gross miscalculation and has very much contributed to the present dispute, as the average figure from 1998 to 2002 is much lower than catches that were made in 2003 and 2004," he said.
"This has meant that the scallop fishermen have to operate within a fishing regime that bears no relation to how the industry has developed in the last couple of years."
"The livelihoods of a lot of people within the fishing and processing industry in the South East are at stake here so a satisfactory solution to the conflict is essential. This dispute has also highlighted wider issues that should be considered as it is crucial that a viable scallop industry is preserved and that our government takes a much stronger lead in shaping the EU-wide Common Fisheries Policy."