The EU’s Fisheries Commissioner has promised to visit Ireland at a meeting with the Irish seafood industry in Brussels this morning.
The Seafood Ireland Alliance said they are pressing the EU for “fairer quotas and workable fishing rules to protect coastal communities.”
Fishing quotas are set by EU fisheries ministers every December.
Those quotas are based on proposals by the European Commission, which themselves rely heavily on scientific data supplied by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
The lobbying for next year’s quotas is already under way.
“Ireland contributes hugely to Europe’s seafood, yet we do not get a fair share in return.
We have 12 percent of EU waters but less than 6 percent of the quotas. The EU must now act”, said Aodh O Donnell, Chief Executive of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO) who was part of the delegation visiting Brussels.
The EU’s Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, is at the heart of EU decision making on fisheries policy.
Securing a visit to Ireland is seen as an important win.
He will “see first-hand the challenges our fishing industry is facing”, the Seafood Ireland Alliance said.
The alliance has repeatedly raised concerns about so-called “zero catch” where the quota has been reduced to nothing because scientists fear the fish stocks are in a perilous state.
But the reality out at sea is more complicated.
“‘Zero catch’”’ advice on cod, whiting and haddock — leading to small bycatch quotas — is unworkable”, the alliance says.
“Irish fishers need viable options, not impossible restrictions,” said Dominic Rihan from the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO).
“We need fairer quotas and workable solutions, especially on mixed fisheries in the Celtic Sea.”
It is an issue Ireland fisheries minister Timmy Dooley TD has raised with his EU counterparts ahead of the all-important quota decisions are made in December.
“It is welcome that Minister Dooley has raised the challenges of zero-catch advice and unsustainable practices by some non-EU states,” said Aodh O Donnell.
“That recognition must now translate into EU-level reforms that work for Irish fishers.”
The Seafood Ireland Alliance was formed last year. It is made up of five organisations.
Besides the IFPO, KFO, its members include the Irish South & West Fish Producer’s Organisation (IS&WFPO), Irish South & East Fish Producers Organisation (IS&EFPO) and the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association (IFPEA).
Together it is an alliance representing key parts of Ireland’s catching and processing sectors.