“EU Commission Report highlights need for Strategic Plan for Fishing Industry”

The EU Commission has today published a Report that highlights a serious decline in fishing incomes in the past two years. The IS&WFO has welcomed the fact that attention is being drawn to this serious issue.

According to Manager, Jason Whooley, "This Report highlights one of the major problems facing the fishing industry which is falling incomes and declining profitability. One side of the recent debate on the Sea Fisheries Bill painted a picture of a highly profitable fishing industry where vessels were making multi-million euro landings of fish. Nothing could be further from the truth and this Report proves that incomes from fishing are falling steadily. The EU Commission Report states, "Over the past few years the economic situation of many fishing enterprises has deteriorated, primarily because of decreasing income. The recent increase in operating costs due to higher fuel prices therefore comes at a sensitive time, creating unprecedented difficulties for many parts of the industry". This backs up what we have been saying and what is revealed by a look at the facts. If huge profits were being made by all fishermen then why would at least 25% of our members voluntarily choose to leave the Industry in the past three months? Why would our Skippers encounter massive problems in recruiting crewmen from Ireland? The reason is given again in the Commission Report. "This rise in costs is also felt strongly by crew members whose wages are a share of the income from the catch (after deduction of all operating costs, including fuel costs); the loss of income for crew members can be as high as 25% in some cases".

Mr Whooley continued, "A number of newspaper editorials during the Sea Fisheries Bill debate took the view that the fishing industry is in need of reform. We have never denied this and we are on record as requesting from Ministers Dermot Ahern and Pat "The Cope" Gallagher that we wanted a long-term strategic plan developed for the industry. Other sectors, most notably agriculture, have developed long-term strategies but there has never been one in place for the fishing industry. The goalposts have been constantly moving making it impossible for an individual fisherman to plan his next move. We have been engaged in classic fire-brigade management for the past thirty years going from one crisis to the next. Minister Dempsey has said that there are problems facing the fishing industry and this EU Commission Report shows that there are. What we now want to see is whether Minister Dempsey has any response to these problems other than the further criminalisation of fishermen. We want him to sit down with the Industry, which he has yet to meet, and begin the process of drawing up a strategy ".

9th March 2006