Irish and international wildlife and environmental groups have called on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney to support an end to overfishing in EU waters by 2015.
Up to 200 groups have written to Mr Coveney and his European Union counterparts.
The groups claim 30 years of fisheries mismanagement under the Common Fisheries Policy has left 47% of target fish stocks in the Atlantic and 80% of those in the Mediterranean overfished.
To date, ministers have not committed to ending overfishing within a defined time frame.
The NGOs say it must be done to allow fish stocks to return to sustainable levels and to secure the future of the fishing industry in Irish and EU waters.
The Irish Presidency hopes to conclude a deal on the CFP before the end of June.
