Fishing industry 'in a state of collapse and crisis'

Fishing industry chiefs are warning their industry is 'in a state of collapse and crisis'.

Fishing industry chiefs are warning their industry is "in a state of collapse and crisis" as the latest figures for the value of fish landed by Ireland's fishing fleet has dropped by €38m.

The CSO's Fishing Landings 2023 report also shows landings by foreign vessels in Irish ports fell by 20% last year compared to 2022 while landings by all vessels in Irish ports fell by 8%.

The Irish Examiner has also been given figures by the industry which show the amount of fresh whole fish fit for human consumption that was landed in Ireland’s biggest fishing port has plummeted by nearly 60%.

The decline in catch value and volume has been blamed on overregulation of the Irish fishing industry, overfishing in Irish waters by other countries, and the ongoing impact of Brexit on the Irish fishing industry.

The CSO figures come after other figures from the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) show fish landings into Killybegs Harbour in Donegal fell from 187,012 tonnes in 2022 to 166,423 tonnes last year.

As well as that 11% drop, the amount of fish fit for human consumption landed there has plummeted from 141,245 tonnes in 2022 to 82,465 tonnes.

In addition, the amount of lesser valued fish - like blue whiting and boar fish - landed for processing into things like pet food, fish feed and fertiliser and nearly doubled from 45,767 tonnes to 83,958.

“We have been warning about the state of Ireland’s fishing industry for years,” Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association General Secretary, Brendan Byrne said.

“We are not crying wolf and the latest figures from two official sources - the CSO and the SFPA - show the industry is in a state of collapse and crisis - a crisis of supply, a crisis over the landing of fish, and a crisis in processing.”

Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation CEO Patrick Murphy said: “Our industry employs more than 16,000 people across rural Ireland who have little alternative employment.

“We have warned about over regulation and the impact it has on our industry, we have warned about job cuts and we have warned about the prices of fish going up for the consumer.

“We have also warned about overfishing. Everything we have warned about has come to pass.

Indigenous Irish fishing fleet

“Either people want to keep their indigenous Irish fishing fleet or they don’t, but if things carry on as they are, I see this industry collapsing into itself in my lifetime.”

The industry has long been at loggerheads with successive governments about not being more vocal on behalf of Irish fishermen in Europe and what it has seen as a lack of vision for investment right across the industry.

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue has always insisted that his only objective as minister has been to work to support fishermen “in every way possible”.

That has, he has said, included dealing with the fall-out from Brexit, which cost the Irish fishing industry €130m in lost quota.

This is on top of losses the sector has suffered because of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the UK’s post-Brexit ban on EU fishing vessels operating within the 12 nautical mile exclusion zone around Rockall, in the north Atlantic.