Objections to enforcement of vital sea fishing regulations are terribly misplaced

Complaints from the fishing industry come at time of multiple stresses for the sector and with greater levels of EU-wide control and monitoring of fishing activities beginning to come into force in 2026. This is necessary so the public can have trust that marine life and the ocean environment are managed in accordance with the law says ecologist Pádraic Fogarty

Launching the SFPA’s Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) into Kinsale harbour, Cork are Adrian Hickey, Sean Murray and Virginia Valls, Sea-Fisheries Protection Officers from the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority. File picture: Daragh McSweeney/Provision

High-profile cases of environmental crime in recent months have highlighted the need for well resourced regulatory authorities that have a clear mandate from the public to carry out their work. This can create strain in industries under the spotlight, such as when in 2023 the Environmental Protection Agency came under sustained fire from farming organisations and their political supporters for demonstrating the deterioration in water quality, primarily as a result of farming activities.

Now, similar criticisms have been levelled at the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) — a statutory body which supervises and enforces sea fishing regulations within Irish waters (both Irish and foreign boats). The fishing industry is not happy with the SFPA, accusing it of jeopardising the competitiveness of the sector and being biased against Irish fishing boats.