€148m in EU funds for seafood industry

Ireland has secured €148m in funding from the European Commission for the development of the seafood industry over the next six years.

Agriculture and Marine Minister Simon Coveney said the funding was more than double the amount available to Ireland during the last Common Fisheries Policy period from 2007 to 2015.

“It will ensure a strong fishing industry in Ireland that can grow [and] expand to meet its potential up to 2020,” he said.

Mr Coveney said the CFP was a major overhaul of the way in which fishing is carried out in EU waters. He said that the purpose was to provide a framework for the long- term sustainability of fish stocks and the whole industry.

“The fund will provide support for our fishing fleet to meet the challenges of the new discards ban; it will support the development of the seafood processing sector, a sustainable aquaculture industry and the communities that depend on a vibrant seafood industry,” he said.

Ireland must now prepare a programme setting out the arrangements for spending the fund and submit this to the Commission by October 20. The Department of Agriculture and the Marine said it had been working on the operational plan since 2013 and had engaged with stakeholders on a number of occasions.

It said further public consultation and strategic environmental assessment will take place over the summer.

“We have already been consulting stakeholders on the framework for the new programme,” Mr Coveney said. “Now that we know the amount of funds we have available, we can finalise these consultations and put in place an ambitious programme of support that delivers on the priorities of the fishing industry and other stakeholders.”

The Irish Farmers’ Association’s aquaculture section welcomed the announcement. It said spent wisely, and backed by a proactive state infrastructure that encourages entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises and family aquaculture businesses around the coast, the fund could “turn the tide in favour of Ireland’s seafood industry”.

“The European Commission has placed the development of sustainable aquaculture as its highest priority to address serious employment problems, re- invigorate the economies of coastal areas, and displace the influx of imported fish, which now account for over two thirds of consumption by European consumers,” said IFA aquaculture executive, Richie Flynn. “The clear EU commitment to aquaculture in monetary terms must be matched by Government with a renewed vigour at home to cut red tape and remove backlogs in licensing created over many years.”