Fishermen blockade ports over EU plans for access

A BLOCKADE of fishing ports in Cork and Kerry may spread to other parts of the country if EU plans go ahead to grant Spanish vessels greater access to Irish waters goes ahead.

Fishermen in Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Dingle, Co Kerry, mounted weekend blockades in protest at EU Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler’s proposals to allow Spanish vessels greater access to the Irish box.

The Irish box is an area 50 miles off the coast in all directions.

Jason Whooley, manager of the Irish South and West Fisheries Organisation, said the livelihoods of hundreds of fishermen would be under threat if Mr Fischler’s plans went ahead.

“We are talking 15,000 jobs directly dependent on fishing and 25,000 spin-off jobs, worth between 70-80 million annually to the economy,” Mr Whooley said.

He said the fishermen most under threat were in the south-west, where fishing grounds for white fish were particularly productive and where up to 40 Spanish vessels fished at any one time.

Mr Fischler’s proposals would give access to hundreds of Spanish vessels, he said.

Up to 100 boats, the livelihood of 500 fishermen, were tied up in protest at the weekend.

“They are concerned that a major u-turn is on the cards in terms of EU fisheries policy, that Mr Fischler is about to clear the way for additional fishing in highly-sensitive areas which are the breeding ground for juvenile fish and the spawning ground for adult fish,” Mr Whooley said.

He said a decision by the Moroccan government not to renew its fishing agreement with the EU had hastened the blockades.

“It was mainly Spanish vessels that fished off Morocco, but because the Moroccan Government pulled out of its agreement with the EU, it meant that up to 400 Spanish boats had nowhere to go. They are currently

being paid to remain docked, but the question is, how long are they prepared to do that? And when they decide to fish again, will it be in the Irish box? That is the worry.”

Mr Whooley will travel to Dublin today to meet Mr Fischler, who is here to discuss the Spanish proposals with the Government.

He said if the fishermen were

ignored, the blockades could spread.

A spokesman for Marine Minister Dermot Ahern said he would be pressing the case for no change in access to the Irish box at today’s meeting with Mr Fischler.