The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs has called for stronger enforcement of non-Irish vessels fishing in the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), better consultation between the sector's regulator and the industry, as well as a comprehensive review of sea-fisheries legislation.
In its report into sea-fisheries protection, published today, the committee also recommends the establishment of a new ombudsman for oversight of the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) - which regulates the fishing industry in Ireland.
The report follows repeated criticism from fishing groups and politicians of both the SFPA's role as regulator, and the 2006 Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act (under which the SFPA was established).
Overall, the committee makes 14 recommendations, including that the forthcoming legislative review of sea-fisheries protection should "encompass" representation of the fishing industry.
It also wants to see the SFPA be afforded discretion to apply non-criminal penalties to misdemeanours and marginal or accidental breaches, as well as the "cessation of a dual-sanction regime whereby both criminal and administrative sanctions can be applied to the same offence".
In relation to Ireland's EEZ - the committee says Minister of State for Fisheries and the Marine Timmy Dooley should "review the sea-fisheries protection enforcement framework as applied to non-Irish vessels fishing in Ireland's EEZ with a view to ensuring that high standards of enforcement are applied".
Also according to the report, an "appropriate ombudsman or other supervisory body" should be established that is "empowered to consider complaints and to interrogate the effectiveness of the SFPA".
Common criticisms from fishing representative groups are that the sector in Ireland is overregulated, and that there are not enough inspections of non-Irish vessels within the country's EEZ.
Minister Dooley previously committed to a review of the regulator and the 2006 Act in the second half of this year.
Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Committee Chair Conor McGuinness said a "key provision of this legislation was to establish the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority.
"While the Irish fishing and seafood industry readily support the need for a regulator to enforce Irish and European Union laws related to sustainable fisheries, they have repeatedly expressed their serious concerns about how those laws are enforced and called for amendments to the 2006 Act, on several grounds".
Deputy McGuinness added it is "timely to review and amend legislation to reflect the lessons of the last two decades".
Meanwhile, committee member and Rapporteur on Sea-Fisheries Protection Padraig Mac Lochlainn said that "industry representatives have called for the SFPA to be accountable to an independent oversight body or ombudsman and they have sought an enforcement framework that does not automatically lead to criminal sanctions, even for minor infringements".
"They have further called for a harmonised approach to control measures across the European Union and sought to strengthen the role of the SFPA’s Consultative Committee.
"Our committee has listened to the voices of this industry and found their calls to be compelling and reasonable," Deputy Mac Lochlainn added.
