Fishermen’s blockades - These ad hoc protests are so damaging

THE fishermen’s blockades of Cork and Waterford ports were called off yesterday after Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Brendan Smith agreed to meet the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) tomorrow. But the fishermen were quick to point out they have not called off their protest, just suspended that aspect of it.

Some of the men are adopting a different approach today by going on hunger strike outside the offices of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in Clonakilty. Their protest is against rising fuel prices, low quotas and the strict enforcement of fishing regulations.

Calling for a relaxation rather than reform of the regulations would seem to suggest a kind of ad hoc nature to the protest, which went ahead without the endorsement of the FIF.