Fishermen to campaign for no vote on Lisbon areas

A SIGNIFICANT meeting of fishermen will take place at Cork Airport tomorrow to plot a campaign to secure a no vote in the Lisbon referendum.

The Irish Fisherman’s Organisation will discuss how much energy it will invest in the referendum and how to maximise the vote in coastal communities. The IFO advocates rejection of the treaty because it said it copper-fastens a two-tier approach to regulation across the union’s fishing communities. And it believes Ireland should have got guarantees on fishing rights and a new quota system when it sought assurances after last year’s vote.

Chairman of the IFO, Ebbie Sheehan, said fishermen feel they have no influence on decision-making either in Ireland or Europe and want this to change.