EU move on recreational fishing quotas is a major threat to tourism

THE European Commission proposal unveiled last December to include recreational fishing in the common fisheries policy is not yet set in stone.

In Ireland, this proposal will mean that anyone who fishes from a boat will be subject to system of quotas, fees, log books, complex calendars and location schedules, enforcement, etc. They will be subject to the same criminal sanctions that threaten our fishermen and women.

The common fisheries policy is in place to promote the European fishing industry and to protect fish stocks. But in what were once Irish territorial waters fish stocks and our fishing industry have drastically diminished.