Fishermen aim to bar foreign fleets

FURIOUS fishermen, forced out of work by the EU’s ban on whitefish, are demanding the shutdown of Irish ports to block foreign fleets landing catches from Irish waters.

Ice plant facilities, necessary for the transhipment of landed catches to Spain, should not be available to the flagship boats still operating in the Irish Box, fishermen argued yesterday.

Industry representatives will meet with fishermen in key ports today to plan wide scale protests against the EU’s decision to stop the whitefish fleet, which reached its quota, going to sea until after January 1.

A day of action is planned for Friday in 10 ports in counties Donegal, Galway, Cork, Waterford, Dublin and Louth.

In ports such as Castletownbere, upwards of 40 large Spanish-controlled vessels would normally land catches, for transhipment, every weekend.

“If Irish boats can’t fish over the Christmas period, then the local ports should be completely closed down,” demanded fishermen Ebby Sheehan.

In response to the EU announcement, Marine Minister Dermot Ahern’s order bans fishing, for monkfish, prawns, megrims and white pollack.

The blow comes in advance of next week’s EU fishery ministers’ meeting where Commissioner Franz Fischler is insisting on huge quota cuts for conservation purposes. The cod quota in the North Sea and Irish Sea will be slashed by 80%.

Industry leaders had been planning a major campaign to halt, or delay, the planned massive quota cuts.

Jason Whooley of the Irish South West Fish Producers Organisation said yesterday: “Our campaign has taken on a new and urgent dimension following the announcement to close the major fisheries on the eastern and south-west coasts.”

The detention of a Castletownbere vessel yesterday, for alleged breaches of regulations, also heightened tension in the south-west, Mr Whooley said.

“The closure of the fisheries and the arrest is putting pressure on the industry, and its leaders, to adopt a more militant stance,” he said.

“Protest action in ports is one form of grievance and, at this stage, nothing can be ruled out,” Mr Whooley said.

Ahead of an EU summit in Copenhagen this weekend, the industry yesterday sought the intervention of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on key matters such as quota cuts, fleet reduction, protection of the Irish Box and socio-economic concerns in coastal communities.

Commissioner Fischler, however, insisted yesterday a deal must be decided at next week’s ministerial talks in Brussels to fix permitted catch levels and begin a recovery programme for several species. It includes reducing cod catches by 63% in the Irish Sea and 79% off the west of Scotland.

Fischler claimed he was easing the fishing pain by disregarding scientific advice to close cod, haddock and whiting fisheries grounds next year. Instead of a moratorium, he is opting for a long-term recovery plan for cod and other species.