“IS&WFO travel to Dail for debate on Sea Fisheries Bill”

The Irish South and West Fishermens Organisation will be in Dail Eireann to witness the debate on the proposed Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2005. This Bill if passed will have massive consequences for an industry already carrying a heavy legislative burden.

Jason Whooley, Manager of the IS&WFO, emphasised the importance of the debate, "This is potentially the most damaging piece of legislation on fisheries ever to come before the Dail. There has been a lot of misinformation on this issue centering on the idea that the European Commission is pushing it. The fact is that at present fishermen here are criminalised for attempting to make a living and we have by far the highest level of fines in the EU. Numerous EU Commission reports have highlighted the enormous discrepancies between penalties imposed in Ireland compared to other Member States. The average fine in Ireland in 2002 (latest available figures) was €11,978 while in Europe it was €1,757. Fines in Ireland have increased since then. The EU Commission have also stated that they do not favour the criminalisation of fishermen and instead prefer administrative sanctions as are used in almost 90% of fisheries offences in Europe. There are also other glaring discrepancies such as the fact that for cases tried here in the Circuit Court Irish fishermen face automatic confiscation of their gear and catch while foreign vessels tried here do not, even for the same offence. To further increase the fines and other penalties above there already high level is really using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. A number of our Politicians, particularly those involved with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, have taken the time to research this subject and they realise that what is being proposed is grossly unfair to the Irish fishing industry. I hope that their voices will be heard in the Dail and that reason will prevail. This Bill must be withdrawn and completely redrafted to reflect our serious concerns".