Ireland's exclusive coastal limits should be extended to 24 miles, according to a Government review-group report.
The extension of the six-mile exclusive and 12-mile "limited access" zoning is vital if fish stocks are to be protected within the Irish Box, the National Strategy Review Group on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) says.
Irish waters can no longer sustain the level of exploitation maintained by other EU member states, it maintains, and a recent European Parliament resolution recommended exclusive coastal limits be broadened to 24 miles.
The socio-economic importance of the Irish fishing industry must also be incorporated into a revised EU policy, according to the report, which was presented yesterday to the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, in Dublin.
The EU policy is due for review in 2002, and a preparatory Green Paper is to be published by the European Commission next year.
Recently, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr Franz Fischler, described the system as "inefficient and ineffective and tied up in red tape", and recommended a "complete re think". The Irish Box, running 50 miles out from the coast, is one of the most heavily fished areas in the European "pond", the report says.
It recommends that access rights be completely reviewed by the EU, and a new regime implemented which reflects the reality that inshore waters cannot sustain the coastal communities dependent on them. The review group makes a series of recommendations for the forthcoming CFP review. Among these are:
A fundamental review of fleetsize policy;
Greater involvement by the fishing industry in scientific assessment, conservation, enforcement and environmental management;
initiation of "set-aside" or marine environmental protection schemes;
Mandatory recording in logbooks of discarded fish;
Improved technical conservation measures, including closures of spawning areas;
EU funding of observers on fishing vessels and more uniform inspection regimes among member states;
Uniformity of penalties.
The National Strategy Review Group on the Common Fisheries Policy report is available on the Bord Iascaigh Mhara website at www.bim.ie
