Threatened cuts to Ireland’s fish catch averted

Threatened cuts to Ireland’s fish catch were averted at the year-end agreement on fish quota when an increase worth €123m for whitefish and €60m in prawn quota was agreed.

Fisheries Minister Simon Coveney said he was relieved he managed to get an increase in prawn quota, in line with scientific advice, and a rise in hake, while maintaining current monkfish and megrim quotas.

The mixed whitefish fisheries off the south and west will see cuts to haddock, cod and whiting, although less than the original proposals from the European Commission.

Mr Coveney was placed in a difficult position, on the one hand defending the reformed fisheries policy that he helped put in place when he chaired talks during the Irish presidency, and on the other defending the interests of the Irish fishing industry.

He had warned his fellow fisheries ministries and the commission that if they tried to enforce some of the cuts too quickly, they would push the industry into finding ways to break the law.

He also warned that the livelihood of a considerable number of fishermen and coastal communities were at stake — a situation that was provided for in the reformed fisheries policy and that would permit some phasing in of terms.

Mr Coveney battled on two fronts, first arguing that cuts on some stocks — recommended as a precaution because they did not have sufficient scientific evidence on the state of the species — were not rational.

And secondly, that the big cuts in mixed fisheries off the Celtic Sea would not achieve the main aim of ensuring that only as many fish as was safe to ensure the viability of the species would be included in quota.

He joined forces with a number of countries including Britain, Spain and France, in arguing that the best method was to use technical measures, such as special nets and mesh sizes that would allow juvenile fish to escape.

One of the big changes agreed is that fishermen will land all fish caught, including those they are not supposed to catch under the quota agreement. These will then be measured and weighed and offset against the national quota.

This is designed to give a better indication of the exact state of the stocks, and to cut down on the throwing overboard of fish that were in all likelihood already dead.

With the agreement reached at one of the shortest total annual catch fisheries meetings in living memory, the worst was avoided according to the commission.

Commissioner Karmenu Vella said: “The best news is that we have succeeded in increasing the number of stocks that are now managed at sustainable levels. I can therefore say that sustainably-managed stocks are now a broadly accepted concept across the European Union.”