Talks on greater Norwegian access to Irish waters fail to reach deal

Fishing vessels docked in Union Hall. File Picture: Andy Gibson.

Talks to whether or not Norwegian fishermen are to get greater access to Irish waters have failed to reach a deal.

Described by someone involved with the talks as having been officially “paused”, the talks are likely to resume in two weeks.

The deal, which is being negotiated between the EU and Norway, is being discussed at a time when other EU states want a greater share of Norway’s cod stocks.

Industry chiefs here fear the EU will sacrifice Ireland’s fish stocks to keep Norway happy so the rest of the EU can get what they want.

Norway — despite not being a member of the EU — is currently allowed by the EU to fish 74,000 tonnes of blue whiting in Irish waters.

This is considerably more than the 48,000 tonnes Irish fishermen can catch in Irish waters.

But as part of annual international quota negotiations to do with how much various states can fish in other states’ waters, Norway has included a demand that it be allowed fish for a total of 450,000 tonnes of blue whiting in Irish waters.

Talks, which stalled last December after Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue objected to Norway’s request, began again on Wednesday and ended late last night in Brussels.

Ireland’s quotas were slashed by 15% in the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement, but while the cut helped get the deal over the line for more powerful EU member states, the deal has since damaged Ireland's fishing industry.

Even if a deal is struck, which gives Norway what it wants, there are concerns about what the impact of that will have on Irish fish stocks.