D-Day looms for older fishing vessels

D-DAY is at hand for the Irish fishing fleet with a multi-million-euro scheme for the permanent removal of older and larger vessels.

Five o’clock on Wednesday afternoon is the closing date for applications under the voluntary decommissioning scheme that aims to remove 75 boats from the whitefish fishing fleet, which has more capacity than fish stock to catch.

If that target is reached, an estimated 400 fishermen will be out of work and a way of life will end for some people whose families have worked on fishing boats at sea for generations.

The ultimate aim of the European Commission-approved scheme is to bring the size of the fleet more in line with available quota, build a sustainable future for those remaining in the industry and support coastal communities which depend on fishing for economic survival.

Many of these communities are currently going through a difficult period due to the decline in the fishing industry, brought about by reduced quotas, soaring fuel costs and cheap fish imports.

The removal of one third of the vessels involved in the white fish sector was recommended in the Government-commissioned Cawley Report as the only option for the industry and coastal areas concerned.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Mary Coughlan, who launched the scheme in February with Minister of State John Browne, announced that a €21 million budget is available for it this year, with a further €21 million committed in 2009.

She said the social consequence for fishing communities right around the coast had been taken into account. Doing nothing was no longer an option.

“Without a modern, safe, and economically viable fishing fleet the very heart of the fishing industry is threatened. The fishing boats that make up our fleet today catch the fish that allow the rest of the industry flourish.

“Whether it is the processing sector, the retail sector, the ancillary services or the many manufacturers that supply the industry — all will slowly decline if we do not have a healthy catching sector.

“And with that decline will come real difficulties for our coastal communities that have for generations looked to the sea to make their living,” she said.

Minister Coughlan said Ireland’s fishing industry has struggled to remain profitable. As declining stocks have led to falling catches, the value of fish taken from the sea has also declined.

“And were this not enough, fuel costs and other overheads have soared. Taken together, these factors have eroded the profitability of all,” she said.

Minister Coughlan stressed, however, that Ireland’s marine fishing industry continues to be a vital and valuable source of economic activity nationally and, particularly, to the coastal communities where it is based

She said the new decommissioning scheme, administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), provides for the opening of a new chapter for the sector.

“By giving those who would retire from the industry a fair deal to decommission their boats, it will ensure that those remaining will see an immediate increase in the amount of quota available to them,” she said.

Minister Coughlan said the Government is determined to deliver on the full range of recommendations in the Cawley Report, of which decommissioning is an important step, and in so doing secure the future for fishing dependent coastal communities.

However, the retired fishing industry leader Joey Murrin claimed the scheme makes no allowance for the many fishermen, most of whom are in the 45-55 age group, who will be left unemployed and uncompensated.

While decommissioning may relieve some financial pressure for many skipper-owners and allow them to walk away debt free, it will do nothing to help deckhands who have given the best part of their working life at sea, he said.

Mr Murrin said he was aware Minister Coughlan was sympathetic to their plight and had allocated part of the scheme’s fund towards retraining initiatives.

He said he had requested her to sympathetically re-examine the possibility of establishing a special scheme to enable legislation to allow fishermen with a long and dedicated track record to walk away with some form of financial compensation for their retirement.

Minister of State John Browne said he was confident the decommissioning target will be met.

There was big interest in it with many inquiries and a lot of people sending in their applications.

“I think what will happen is that the people who want to get out will get out and that those who remain will have a viable living in the future for their families,” he said.