Government resist compromises on EU fish quotas

THE Government was last night resisting compromises that would see fishermen getting a quota for some species next year, but in exchange they would have to give them up in 2012.

The annual EU negotiations on fish quotas was continuing late last night with Fisheries Minister Seán Connick appearing to have won an important victory, that he hoped to hold onto as negotiations continued.

This was in relation to the Hague Preferences, which for 34 years has given Ireland an additional quota share in many key stocks. It has to be approved annually and normally it is opposed by several other countries.

The additional quota means substantially extra amounts of cod in the Celtic Sea will be available to Irish fishermen as well as other species in other areas.

But negotiations on other aspects was proving more difficult. The commission said they would agree to postpone for a year a new management system for prawns in the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and West of Ireland that would reduce fishermen’s ability to move between fishing grounds.

Eibhlin O’Sullivan, chair of the Federation of Irish Fishermen, said: “We would not like to accept such a proposition, but we will have to wait until the negotiations are concluded to see what the exact outcome will be.”

There was a similar suggestion for the proposal to cap efforts in Areas VII(f) and VII(g) in the Celtic Sea at 90% of their 2007 effort. The federation said that this would “once again see fishermen displaced from their traditional fishing grounds.”

Boarfish, a new species that the fishing industry had recently developed and was worth €16 million last year, will be subject to quota next year severely reducing the amount that can be caught.

Irish fishermen caught 90,000 tonnes last year but last night the catch was being set at 25,000 tonnes.

A decrease of 72% in the west of Scotland and of 62% of Irish Sea cod quota with a view to closing these fisheries in 2012 and a 40% cut in Celtic Sea was still on the table last night.

Another 25% cut in the day at sea off the east, north and west coasts was expected to go through while the Irish negotiators hoped to get some leeway on the 93% cut in blue whiting and 50% cut in north west herring.