The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has said it is imperative that food supply chains are kept intact during the Covid-19 crisis.
Speaking on RTÉ's CountryWide, Michael Creed said the Government is focused on ensuring supermarket shelves remain stocked with high quality food, saying farmers and fishermen are "critical to that endeavour".
He said it is critical such services are maintained and he is satisfied that all necessary steps are being taken so that the food chain supply continues.
However, he acknowledged that the fishing industry is facing significant difficulties because of the collapse of the markets that it supplies into globally.
He said exports to the Chinese market is worth around €50m and once that collapsed, there has been a "domino" effect.
Minister Creed said he has been in contact with the EU Commission and is looking at support for storage to freeze and store the fish while markets are collapsed.
He said he held a "constructive engagement" with the fishing industry yesterday.
He said the focus is on matching fishing endeavour with the market opportunities and "how we might support them in the intervening period".
In relation to the marts that are continuing to operate, he said the advice is exactly the same for them as it is with every section of society.
"They have to comply with regulations by the National Public Health Emergency Team."
He said they have engaged with the livestock mart sector and those that are operating must operate within guidelines of social distancing etc.
"We have department staff in our marts for other reasons but they are keeping an eye on how they operate in this context."
Fishermen in #Castletownbere gave away some 40 boxes of hake & haddock this morning.
— JennïeØSullivân (@OSullivanJennie) March 21, 2020
Skipper Damien Turner said it was a small gift to the local community in uncertain times.
The local fleet doesn't know when it will get to fish again. #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/7EK1ZZjUFk
Fishermen in west Cork gave away up to 40 boxes of fresh fish today to shoppers in their local supermarkets as a gesture of solidarity.
Several tonnes of hake and haddock worth over €4,000 were filleted by the fishermen, their wives and children earlier this morning before 24 boxes were brought to their local SuperValu stores in Castletownbere and Bantry, where they were quickly snapped up.
Trawler skipper Damien Turner said local fishermen decided that with everything shutting down, every industry has to pull together to help each other.
"We don't know when we will get back fishing again. We just wanted to give a small gift to the local community," he said.
It has been a devastating week for the Irish fishing industry with the collapse of EU fish markets because of the Covid-19 virus.
After weeks of bad weather, the local fleet of over 60 trawlers returned home to Castletownbere yesterday with holds and freezers full of fish but no markets to sell them into.
Most trawlers have tied up and do not know when they will fish again.
Castletownbere Co-op has 64 boats fishing out of the southwestern port employing 400 fishermen, and another 120 people on shore.
They are now facing a very uncertain future.
