WHEN THE fishing industry praises the negotiating skills of Irish Ministers at the annual EU quota negotiations in Brussels, you know that a particularly good job has been done in protecting their interests. The outlook had been particularly grim in relation to catch quotas for cod, haddock and whiting off the north-west coast, but intensive lobbying at the highest level during the French presidency of the EU protected long-standing preferences enjoyed by the Irish fleet and brought significant benefits in terms of conservation and quota measures.
One of the proposals dropped during the negotiations involved a reduction in the mesh size of gill nets, which would have had the effect of catching smaller fish. Such nets will now be banned around our coasts. In addition, a new type of net with a square mesh panel that allows undersized cod and hake escape will be used in the prawn fishery off the north-west coast. Overall, Irish fishermen have gained an increase of 4 per cent in whitefish quotas and 8 per cent in pelagic species, amounting in value to about €200 million.
At a time when one-third of our whitefish fleet is being decommissioned and the industry is under intense financial pressure, any breathing space is to be welcomed. And, unfortunately, this may represent a short breathing space. For stocks of the most valuable fish species continue to decline. Illegal fishing and processing activity has been endemic within the industry. Up to now, the EU Commission made the rules, but it was up to national governments to enforce them. Because of political pressure, they failed to do so. Mediterranean countries were the worst offenders. A new system of controls, designed to modernise inspection and surveillance methods and grant oversight and policing powers to the EU, has been proposed by Commissioner Joe Borg. As a small, fish-rich State, we should welcome that development. The initiative should not be derailed because of a proposal to include pleasure angling within the compass of conservation. The recreational sector is now so large in Europe – and stocks so stressed – that catches by anglers are affecting endangered species. In some instances, undersized fish are being sold to commercial outlets. Because of this trend, licensing and catch controls already apply to pleasure angling in the US and Australia. Initial proposals from the EU Commission affecting anglers appear to be unworkable, but they can be modified to ensure compliance and ease of enforcement. All fishermen have a duty to co-operate.