December 6th 2006

“Difficult Fisheries Negotiations Ahead ”

The Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) said today that the EU Commission's opening proposals on fishing quotas for 2007 represent a serious challenge for the Irish negotiating team at the forthcoming fisheries talks in Brussels from 19-21st December. While proposed increases in major demersal stocks such as Hake (+15%) and Monkfish (+6%) are significant, they are vastly outweighed by massive cuts in Celtic Sea Herring (-35%), Celtic Sea Cod (-35%), Northwest Cod and Irish Sea Cod (-25%), Haddock (-15%), Ling (-30%), Irish Sea Whiting (-68%), Celtic Sea Plaice (-15% ) among many more cuts. The proposed increase of 15% in Rockall Haddock is far lower than the scientific advice on this stock suggests as being sustainable.

Pelagic species quota increases proposed in Mackerel (+12%) are likewise countered by massive cuts in Celtic Sea Herring (-35%), Northwest Herring, (-27%) and Horse Mackerel (-15%). The issue of days at sea reductions in the Irish Sea and in the Northwest is a further very difficult issue. The industry is adamant that the Commission must take on board major industry generated initiatives in terms of conservation and management of the Celtic and Irish Seas. The rug cannot be pulled from beneath the industry prior to promised assessments in 2007 of recovery measures which have been in existence over the past five years which are largely discredited in our view. On the the pelagic side, cuts in Herring and Horse Mackerel would only serve to exacerbate the current difficulties, based on a very poor level of scientific analysis.

FIF Chairman Lorcán Ó Cinnéide commented "Our industry in Ireland currently awaits the publication of a major Strategy Review which will of neccessity involve a lot of pain on the part of the sector. Our negotiators at the forthcoming talks have to ensure that the Commission's furtherance of its current approach does not negate all the work that has been done." "We note that the detailed input of the Regional Advisory Councils on quotas, into which we have had major input along with our EU partner industries and indeed environmental organisations, is not reflected in the EU's proposals at this time due to time constraints, but we expect that these will be fully considered at the talks themselves. Mr Ó Cinnéide added "it is all to play for at this point. We have meetings scheduled with the Minister and his officials next week and we will continue to work assiduously towards achieving a more sensible set of outcomes than is currently tabled"