Fisherman blockade disrupts Rosslare ferries

MORE than 1,000 ferry passengers had to be diverted to Dublin yesterday after a blockade of Rosslare and Waterford harbours by fishermen protesting Government-imposed fishing restrictions.

The protest resulted in the cancellation of three ferries heading out of Rosslare, with ferry companies Stena Line and Irish Ferries forced to make alternative arrangements.

Ferries returning to Rosslare were also affected.

The blockade was carried out by fishermen from Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford angry at a recent Government decision to impose new management structures on fishing vessels.

Three-quarters of Ireland’s scallop allocation for 2005 has already been caught, resulting in the Government deciding in May that vessels could only trawl for scallop eight days a month.

Between 6.30am and 7.15am yesterday morning, 12 fishing vessels, each measuring up to 20 metres, blocked shipping routes out of Rosslare Harbour. A lorry was also parked before the entrance to the harbour, preventing the flow of traffic. That was later moved, although a protest by processing workers and their families continued, as gardaí monitored the scene.

In Waterford, a similar protest saw five white fish section vessels, who lent their support to the scallop fishermen, move into the harbour. The Port of Waterford Company notified protesters of their intention to seek an injunction at a special sitting of the High Court during the afternoon. The blockade was lifted at 1.30pm.

The Rosslare blockade was lifted just before 2pm yesterday, although the fishermen refused to rule out similar action in the future. Local Fianna Fail TD John Browne will meet the fishermen for exploratory talks at the Quality Hotel in Wexford Town this morning in a bid to avoid further blockades.

Rosslare Harbourmaster Aidan Jameson said passengers had been “seriously inconvenienced” by the blockade.

A spokesperson for Irish Ferries said that the company had lost two sailings, one into and one out of Rosslare, due to the blockade.

“We succeeded in re-routing most of our passengers onto the Dublin-Holyhead route,” he said. “We managed to minimise the inconvenience caused to our passengers.”

One of the fishermen involved in the blockade, Eugene Bates, said the Government needed to show “good governance and consultation” to solve the row. “We are not going to go bankrupt without firing a shot,” he warned.

Frank Doyle of the Irish Fishermen’s Organisation said he understood the protesters’ frustration, and criticised the Government for handing out new licences.

“Here we have a very valuable fishery which is being frozen out of existence,” he said. “We are more or less tied to the same [fishing] capacity we had 10 years ago, while the French have multiplied by a factor of almost eight over the same period.”

A spokesperson for the Department of the Marine stressed that a solution to the problems affecting the scallop fishing industry had been sought since last January, and stated that the fishing restrictions were “an interim position.”

Michael Walsh, chief executive, South-East Fishermen’s Organisation, spoke of some fishermen having their backs to the wall and some of whom he claims are now facing bankruptcy.

“We as an organisation did not condone the action taken by the fishermen today, but they have a grievance. They have decided to suspend their actions for 24 hours to allow me to go into negotiations with Junior Minister John Browne, T.D., this morning [Tuesday]. But the fishermen are far from happy as negotiations have been ongoing since January last.

“Basically the government’s proposals will only sustain scallop fishing days for 35% to 45% of the fishing fleet, but our members want priority. As a result we have asked Minister Gallagher to negotiate with us and sit down and come up with a solution. But there has been a stand off by the Department,” he said.