New fish quotas not enough to save ‘ailing industry’
Yesterday, those working in the trade said that unless more sweeping changes were put in place, the existing quotas will not be enough to save the ailing industry.
“It is a bit like rearranging the deck chairs. If our quotas go up 7% it is still only a fraction of the amount the French can fish in our waters.
“There is just no political will. We are not able to tap into the fish stocks that are on our doorstep,” said Seamus O’Flaherty, who runs Saltees’ fish factory in Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford with his brothers. They also operate a number of trawlers.
He said the result of the EU ministers’ meeting brought some good news but it would not affect the markets of the fish that really mattered — cod.
“It was not too bad - a few quotas went down but, in recent years, the December fish quota meetings in Brussels had been lot worse.
“A lot of the fish, where quotas were increased, were the ones you get in fancy restaurants but they are not really popular in the Irish market.”
Paul Cusack, of Limerick’s famous fishmonger Cusack’s, said customers should not expect any short term price difference arising from the new quotas.
Instead, he said there were bigger problems coming down the line which threatened to cut the supply of fish to Irish markets altogether.
“The real affect that this (European policy) is going to have is on the coastal communities. And keeping them sustainable is the key.
“There is no clear business plan and, in my view, you have a hit and miss quota system that is not working.
“I don’t think it is a price issue at this stage. If it is unprofitable in the communities to keep the industry going, the supply chain is broken and that is when it is going to affect the market.”
He suggested the Government should not be concerning itself with arguments over quotas when there was no clear strategy for keeping the fishing industry alive in the country.
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