Fishermen tell High Court quota for Dublin Bay prawn fishing will be almost halved if they lose case

By Ann O'Loughlin

Ireland's EU quota for Dublin Bay prawn fishing will be cut by 45% next year if a decision to change how landings are assessed is not overturned, it has been claimed in the High Court.

Inishmore-based Pat Fitzpatrick, a member of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation, was granted permission by the court today to challenge a decision by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to close a section of the Porcupine Bank, off the west and south coasts, to nephrops fishing also known as Dublin Bay prawn fishing.

Mr Fitzpatrick says his livelihood is at risk if the Minister's decision is allowed to stand over what is a €15m per year industry.

The court heard the Minister closed an area to nephrop fishing in September after receiving advice from the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) that it was being over-fished and the country was already close to reaching its national quota under EU rules.

It has remained closed since then and it appears it will continue to be closed next month, Mr Fitzpatrick's counsel David Conlan Smyth told the court.

The reason the Minister issued the closure order was because the SFPA had said that, despite returns from fishermen that the catch for the January to July period this year was 773 tonnes, the actual catch was 1991 tonnes.

This was because the SFPA had decided to unilaterally change the system for assessing catches, counsel said. Up until this year, the catch estimate was based on vessel logs which were sent to the SFPA.

This was changed when the SFPA decided it would be based on time out at sea.

While this had been flagged from July, there had been no opportunity for Mr Fitzpatrick to make representations before the closure order was made and this was a breach of the right to be heard, counsel said.

Asked by Mr Justice Seamus Noonan if his client was saying that fishermen were being accused of "fiddling the figures", counsel said that was so.

Counsel added it was being done in circumstances where the figures will be reported to the European Commission which will impose a 45% cut on Ireland's nephrops quota next year, apart from any levies that may be imposed.

His client was saying the Minister should not abandon his power to the SFPA and should have considered all the evidence before making the closure order.

Mr Justice Noonan said he would grant leave to bring judicial review proceedings against the Minister and the SFPA, but would not grant any orders prohibiting the closure until he had heard from the other side. He adjourned the matter for two weeks.