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“IS&WFO to meet with high-level French delegation on the future for fishing” The Irish South and West Fishermens Organisation are today meeting with a delegation of M.P.s and Scientists from France who have travelled to Cork. The delegation have been asked by their Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, to look at the approach to fisheries issues being taken in other EU Countries and to assess how the French fishing industry might deal with current difficulties in the sector. Jason Whooley, Manager of the IS&WFO, had this to say on the visit: "We welcome this visit by French M.P.s and the Chief Scientific Advisor to the French Prime Minister as it supports the arguments we have been making domestically for quite a while. It indicates that there are genuine problems facing the fishing sector at present and that these problems are Europe wide and not just Irish issues. Fishing incomes are falling everywhere due to rapidly rising fuel costs, static fish prices and pressure on fish stocks. The fishing industry is particularly vulnerable to fuel price rises as it cannot just pass on the cost to the consumer like most other industries. This visit demonstrates clearly that the fishing industry needs the intervention and support of Politicians at the highest level if it is to have a viable future. It has been initiated by one of the most powerful Politicians in Europe, the French Prime Minister. This indicates the seriousness with which the fishing industry is regarded in France. They recognise that a strategy has to be developed for the sector to cope with current difficulties. Contrast this active involvement of the French prime Minister with the response of our Taoiseach to a request from the Irish fishing industry for a meeting where he delegated all responsibility to his Ministers. As an island nation, where the fishing industry should be every bit as important to us as it is to the French, it is vital that we meet with Minister Dempsey and Minister Browne as soon as possible so that we can start the process of drawing up a strategy for the future of the Irish fishing industry."
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