The Irish fishing industry has warned it is bracing for catastrophic fishing quotas next year that "could collapse the Irish fishing sector and devastate major fishing communities".
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) whose scientific advice on stock status is used by the EU to set fishing quotas, has recommended a 70% reduction in the EU’s mackerel quota next year, a 41% reduction in the blue whiting quota and a 22% reduction in the boarfish quota.
The advice published by the international scientific body says the mackerel stock is below a safe biological limit with spawning under significant pressure.
The ICES advice said the sum of the "unilateral quotas for mackerel has resulted in catches that have exceeded the scientific advice by, on average, 39% since 2010".
It warned that failure to adhere to the advice may lead to a lower chance of stock recovering.
A meeting of the pelagic fishing industry with the Minister of State for Fisheries Timmy Dooley in Killybegs yesterday heard the sector was at "a cliff-edge" in "an hour of need".
CEO of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation Aodh O’Donnell said while sustainability is paramount, the scientific recommendation is "a hammer blow".
"Mackerel is Ireland’s most valuable catch, worth €94 million in exports to top markets in Europe and Asia," he said.
"A 70% quota cut could slash this by €66 million next year."
"It could wipe out Ireland’s pelagic fishing fleet and fish processors."
Mr O’Donnell alleges that the recommended cuts are a result of years of overfishing, particularly by non-EU coastal states.
He has accused "rogue players of the North, mainly Norway, the Faroes and Russia" of having "fished as much as they liked" of the shared migratory stock of mackerel.
"They did so against scientific advice and with impunity because they believed the EU would never apply sanctions to them," he said.
"We have repeatedly urged the EU to stop these non-EU coastal states from unilaterally setting inflated quotas"
The EU has fisheries agreements with Norway, which include bilateral, trilateral and neighbouring agreements. Fishing quotas for EU member states are allocated through the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) that sets a Total Allowable Catch for each stock that is divided among Member States using a method of allocating quotas called Relative Stability.
This mechanism gives each country the same percentage share each year based on historic reference levels. The industry meeting in Killybegs heard calls for a new sharing regime.
Ireland's mackerel quota falling
Ireland’s mackerel quota has fallen from more than 75,000 tonnes in 2020 to a projected 10,800 tonnes in 2026.
CEO of the Irish Fish Exporters and Producers Organisation, Brendan Byrne said since Brexit "the processing sector is facing Economic Armageddon".
"The ICES recommendation has hit three of the four main species which the Irish pelagic processing sector depend upon the most [mackerel, blue whiting and boarfish]," he said.
Meanwhile, CEO of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation, Dominic Rihan said the short term situation will be very difficult for the fleet.
"If we don’t take the advice, the chances of stock recovery are very bad. We don’t want that situation.
"We need a sustainable future, but we’re not going to get that if we don’t accept what’s going on; we obviously need support."
Mr Rihan said a financial support package is needed in the short term along with a long-term strategy for the industry.
The direct and indirect employment of the fishing in Donegal is estimated at 4,300 jobs per year.
'Big political support' needed
Kenny Ward of Shaun Ward Fish Exports said, "big political support" is needed "at both, national and European level".
"We need to get good management of stocks across the coastal states so that we can sustainably catch and process fish in Killybegs with jobs for the future".
David Gallagher of Gallagher Brothers Fish Merchants reiterated the calls for political support in Europe.
"We’re in the spawning grounds of the mackerel and the mackerel has been decimated in the international zones by third countries.
"Ireland and the EU need to toughen up to it and take action," Mr Gallagher said.
Karl McHugh of the Atlantic Dawn Group echoed those sentiments adding that the mackerel fishery has been the "economic sustenance of south west Donegal".
"We called upon our minister is that meaningful and drastic measures are taken, both economically and diplomatically to try and call a halt to this activity".
John Lynch of the Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation called on the minister to ensure the Hague Preference is utilised in the December quota negotiations.
The Hague Preference is a long-standing Common Fisheries Policy mechanism that gives Ireland an increased share of certain fish stocks when their total allowable catch levels fall below a specified point.
Chief Executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation Patrick Murphy said the fishermen of Castletownbere in Co Cork were still "in shock".
"We faced an awful lot of challenges but if you’re not given any fish, there’s nothing you can do to get over it".
Minister raising matter with European Commissioner for Fisheries
Minister of State for the Marine Timmy Dooley said that he will be raising the matter with the European Commissioner for Fisheries Costas Kadis this week, following previous engagements.
"I’ve made it clear that this is intolerable and cannot continue in my discussions with the [EC Fisheries] Commissioner.
"It’s [reductions are] based on scientific advice that stocks are dwindling. Obviously from a conservation perspective - they must be respected, but there’s work to be done.
"The continued overfishing and what I believe is an abuse of the quota system by some of the coastal states, Norway, the Faroes and Iceland in particular is going to have to stop."
Mr Dooley acknowledged the significant potential for job losses and added that he will be working with colleagues "to try and find a package of measures the [sector’s] immediate needs".
Fiskebåt, the Norwegian vessel owners’ organisation, previously told RTÉ News that it was fishing a mackerel share comparable to what it fished before 2008, when Iceland increased their fisheries.
The organisation previously said it did not agree with the claims of certain countries and added they expect the EU to also contribute to reduced overfishing and an agreement that includes all coastal states.
RTÉ News has sought a statement from the European Commission.
