Irish fishermen take EU to court in Luxembourg

A GROUP of 24 Irish fishermen are taking the European Commission to court this week over the refusal by Brussels to grant increased tonnage to trawler owners who carried out safety improvements to their vessels.

The European Court of Justice will hear details this week of the claims by the fishermen that the decision has cost them a combined total of over €40 million.

The fishermen are challenging a controversial decision by former Agriculture and Fisheries Commissioner, Franz Fischler to refuse their application for increased tonnage which had resulted from carrying out safety and navigational improvements to their vessels.

In April 2003, the European Commission rejected 44 applications from Irish trawler owners, while approving just five requests from Irish fishermen for increased tonnage.

The case comes before the ECJ’s Court of First Instance in Luxembourg on Wednesday.

The majority of the cases involve Donegal trawlers fishing out of the ports of Killybegs, Burtonport and Greencastle but also includes fishermen operating out of Castletownbere, Co Cork; Inishmore, Co Galway and Clogherhead, County Louth. Seán O’Donoghue, chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation, yesterday said:

“This is an issue that has a huge financial implication for all types of fishermen as it relates to vessels that fish for pelagic, whitefish and shellfish.”

Mr O’Donoghue claimed many fishermen were forced to buy additional tonnage permits from other operators as a result of the decision to avoid being in breach of EU fisheries rules.

Fishermen organisations in Ireland claim many of their members replaced older vessels or carried out significant improvements to existing ones in accordance with a decision by the EU Council of Ministers in 1999 relating to the restructuring of the industry to ensure a sustainable balance between resources and their exploitation.

Mr O’Donoghue said six fishermen who operate out of Killybegs had spent around €21m on having to purchase additional tonnage as a result of the commission’s rejection of their applications.

The fishermen will claim that they understood the EU would allow for increases in capacity to trawlers which resulted exclusively from safety improvements.