Irish Examiner view: Fishing industry faces a perfect storm

Immediate and imaginative support is needed to rescue Ireland's fishing industry from an existential threat

Then president Paddy Hillery signing accession papers to the EEC in 1972. The idea that joining the EU damaged Ireland's fishing industry is disputed — but the recent post-Brexit deal certainly was a real blow. Picture: AFP/Getty

Ireland’s fish processing industry has suffered a 45% decline in the amount of fish being landed in Irish ports and processed in the country’s biggest plants, based in Killybegs, Co Donegal.

A drop in productivity of almost half in any industry would be indicative of a crisis, and stakeholders — such as the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association — have certainly sounded the alarm.