New ‘weighing at pier’ rules are an ‘absolute disaster’ for fishermen

Castletownbere, West Cork: Irish fishermen are threatening to blockade fishing ports around Cork, Dublin and Rosslare in the next few weeks over EU plans to change the way fishermen's catches are weighed. Picture: Andy Gibson.

New rules requiring all fish catches to be weighed by the pier side have left fishermen reeling as they scramble to access weighing scales that are in short supply.

The new requirement follows an EU decision last month to revoke a previous derogation, allowing catches to be weighed in factories and processors, on foot of audits suggesting that catches were being manipulated and misreported.

Fishing industry groups have refuted the audit findings and say the issue lies with the regulatory process, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the European Commission.

The findings were not made available, there was no advance warning of the April decision, and the required infrastructure to weigh straight from boats was not in place, they said.

'An absolute disaster'

Chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation (ISWFPO), Patrick Murphy said the situation was “an absolute disaster”, which had led to a waiting list for weighing scales that have to be calibrated by a state agency.

Fishermen with refrigerated boats, Mr Murphy said, were now expected to unload already iced and packed catches at the pier side for weighing and then repack the fish in fresh ice.

Meeting in Castletownbere on Thursday to discuss the new rules on weighing were (front) Senator Tim Lombard, Fine Gael; chief executive of Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, Patrick Murphy and trawler captains Alan Carleton; Eric Murphy and Alan O'Neill. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Those landing pelagic species, such as mackerel and herring, which are kept in water, must now “de-water” their catches before weighing the fish.

The new requirements, fishing representatives said, pose contamination and spoilage risks, which the SFPA was not taking into account, despite the fact it has health and safety responsibilities for produce.

Mr Murphy, who is based in Skibbereen, said it was like asking a dairy farmer to pump milk from a refrigerated tank into a barrel to be weighed and then transferring the product to a new tank.

“This applies to every single pier and jetty, every part of the country where a box of fish is landed, and every type of fish. Every single fish now has to be weighed on the pier,” he told the Irish Examiner.

'Lunacy must end'

“It is absolutely crazy,” he said, adding the SFPA must go back to Brussels and the “lunacy must end”.

The SFPA said it had held meetings with producer organisations and industry representatives in recent on the required changes and would “continue to engage with the industry on this matter”.

“The immediacy of the EU’s decision means that fishers may now need access to additional weighing facilities at piers that may not yet have been approved by the SFPA,” a spokesperson said.

“Consequently, as an interim measure up to the 1st June weigh systems can be used once they have a calibration certificate issued within the last six months by an authorised verifier,” they added.