Ageing fishing vessels decommissioned under €45m scheme

MARINE Minister John Browne yesterday unveiled a fresh round of decommissioning of ageing fishing vessels, in a €45 million scheme designed to safeguard the future of the seafood industry.

The scheme is aimed at bringing about a viable future for the seafood industry by reducing the size of whitefish vessels, to ensure a better balance with the fish stocks available to the fleet.

“The scheme represents a substantial Government investment to support the sustainable development of the economies of those coastal communities dependent on fishing,” said the minister.