'Fishing industry is dying': One-third of Ireland's offshore fleet apply for decommissioning 

The scheme, which is worth €60m, was set up because of the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement

The Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement led to cuts agreed between the Government and the EU on the number of fish Irish fishers could catch. Picture: Dan Linehan

The Government has been warned that the decommissioning fishing fleet of a third of the country’s entire offshore fishing fleet could be its last wake-up call to what is happening in an industry which is ‘dying’.

Some 64 of the 180-strong fleet have applied to the Government’s decommissioning scheme. Of those, 19 are reportedly from the Castletownbere in Co Cork, a town heavily reliant on the fishing industry.