Irish Navy escorts trawlers to Cork after detaining them in UK waters

Irish Naval Vessel LÉ William Butler Yeats  Picture; David Creedon / Anzenberger

A Naval Service ship has detained two Irish-registered fishing vessels in British waters on suspicion of breaches of fishing regulations.

It could be one of the last times this happens if Irish trawlers are unable to fish in British-controlled waters after a hard Brexit.

LÉ William Butler Yeats entered the British Executive Economic Zone (EEZ) water after notifying British authorities of its intention to monitor Irish trawlers' activities. Irish navy ships are not allowed to patrol within Britain's sovereign 12-mile limit.

The crew of LÉ William Butler Yeats arrested the two vessels yesterday. They were fishing approximately 86 miles south-east of Cork harbour at the time.

LÉ William Butler Yeats (#P63) departing the Basin at Haulbowline Naval Base last week to commence a #Maritime #Defense and #Security Operation (MDSO) patrol of Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). @defenceforces 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/zNzd1EDh1T

— Irish Naval Service (@naval_service) September 6, 2020

A spokesman for the Defence Forces said the detentions were in relation to alleged breaches of fishing regulations.

He said the two trawlers were being escorted to Cork, where they will be handed over to An Garda Síochána.

Under an EU agreement, member states are allowed to send their respective navies to other states' waters, with prior notice, to check vessels of their own nationalities. They are not allowed to check vessels of other nations on these operations.

The British, from time to time, also send their navy's ships into Ireland's EEZ to check on their trawlers.

However, this cooperation between the EU and Britain will almost certainly cease in the event of a hard Brexit.

Irish trawlers are expected to be excluded from British waters if this happens. The vast majority of them are expected to switch to fishing in Irish waters along with vessels from other EU states.

It has been warned by fishing organisations that depleting manpower numbers in the Naval Service will make it almost impossible to police this predicted influx.

The Naval Service has arrested 10 vessels for breaching fisheries regulations so far this year.