Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will respond to Deputy Pringle's questions first because I know he must leave the meeting shortly. If he has any further questions on the herring management document, once he has had a chance to read it, he can contact us and we will be happy to answer them.

On the herring issue, we had to apply some allocation criteria and could not simply allow a free-for-all in terms of allowing everyone who wanted to catch herring in the Celtic Sea to do so just because the quota had increased. Had we done that, we would very quickly have gone back to where we were four or five years ago when the stock was decimated. There had to be some way of limiting numbers and we believe the way we did it was the fairest. I would point out that we intend to apply the exact same rules to the north-west herring stock when that fishery recovers. That means it will be the people who have catches in the historical reference years who will have priority for that area. Let us wait until we see what happens there but I have no doubt there will be people who will be equally upset that they will not be allowed into that fishery when, assuming proper management, we see quota increases similar to those in the Celtic Sea. All we can do is be consistent and that is what we are trying to do with both north-west and Celtic Sea herring. It just so happens that everyone wants to get into the Celtic Sea at the moment because that is where the fish are, or rather where the quota is. Many people would say the fish numbers are starting to grow in the north west and I hope that is true.

Like Deputy Pringle, I would love to be able to change the relative stability agreements. The fact that Ireland, in tonnage terms, catches 23% of the quota in the waters for which we are responsible but only gets 18% of the value is not something with which I am happy.

However, my job is to get the best deal I can for Irish fishing and to maintain Irish fish stocks as best I can year on year. I concentrate on the areas where I know I can get results. This is why we have developed a boarfish industry in Ireland, an area where we have the majority of the quota. This is why we are working on getting foreign landings into Ireland, because if we cannot get Irish trawlers catching fish, we want foreign trawlers landing fish at Irish ports in order that at least we get the benefit of adding value and the benefit of jobs in the processing sector. This strategy is working, especially in the whitefish sector with French trawlers landing in such places as Cobh and processing in places such as Ballycotton, where, I understand, an extra 15 or 25 jobs have been created as a result of French whitefish landings at Cobh. We are trying to work to make the best of what we have.

If I see an opportunity to increase our overall quota or our overall share of quota and if we can do so in a sustainable way, then naturally I will take that opportunity. However, we can get caught up year after year dwelling on the historical unfairness of relative stability agreements and the allocation of quota, but we will get nowhere in that debate. This is one thing that has held back Irish fishing instead of looking for new opportunities with new species and new landing opportunities. Let us consider what happened in Killybegs with blue whiting in the past year. It has been worth a fortune to that town. Foreign trawlers have been landing blue whiting in huge volumes at Killybegs and we are keen to build on that. I realise there is a geographical concern with Celtic Sea herring but we have opened up all ports to landings of Celtic Sea herring and this was not the case previously and, from a processing point of view, it is a good news story. There are various sides to these stories and it is important to highlight them.

I welcome the management plan for north-west herring. There is nothing I would like to see more than the success we achieved last year with the Celtic Sea replicated off the north-west coast. I hope we are on our way to achieving it. There will be some lean years while we are rebuilding the stocks but I hope everyone will benefit as a result.

It is clear what our most valuable stocks are in terms of quota. First is mackerel in terms of value, second is prawns, third is horse mackerel, fourth in value is albacore tuna and megrim is fifth. We are examining this stock by stock and focusing on those most valuable to our fishing industry. We are trying to put a scientific case, as we did last year with some success. Last year we achieved the highest quota allocation in living memory, worth approximately €250 million in terms of the value of fish. That was a significant increase. The problem is that when one gets a really good result in a given December, people expect us to get the same result every year. This is a big danger from my perspective and expectations are high. I am keen to bring people down to earth. The proposal from the Commission this year is for deep cuts across a series of sectors. It will require a lot of preparation for us to be able to improve that situation. To be honest, the only language the Commission understands is science, as opposed to emotion or protests or whatever. We are building the best scientific case we can and we are working with the best marine biologists in the country at the Marine Institute to be able to put a scientific case to change the Commission proposals where it is appropriate to do so. There are many examples where change is both appropriate and sustainable, and this is what we will do to try to get the best possible deal we can in December.

I am perfectly conscious of how reliant people are. Deputy Harrington is correct. People in such places as Rossaveal, Killybegs, Dingle, Castletownbere and Greencastle and those along the east and south-east coasts will be watching the December negotiations more closely than they would have watched the budget yesterday, because it will have a more direct impact next year on their livelihoods and those of their families. I am mindful of this responsibility in terms of trying to do the best job we can possibly do. I think we did that last year and certainly we will take the same proactive approach again this year.

I probably have answered some of the questions put by Senator Ó Domhnaill. It is unfortunate that the Hague preferences do not simply roll over automatically in December. We must use up negotiating capital to ensure we hold on to the Hague preferences each year, and this is unwelcome, in my view. The Hague preferences were negotiated and they make good sense for Ireland. It is a fairness issue because when quotas fall below certain levels or begin to fall below a critical mass, it is almost unsustainable to have a fishing industry catching less than the critical mass. This is why Hague preferences kick in for many smaller stocks in Irish waters. We should get Hague preferences automatically each year but we must negotiate them at the start of the December Council, and this uses up some rather valuable negotiating capital. I am not especially happy about that. However, this is the reality and the politics of it. We need to hold on to the Hague preferences and obviously I will argue for that.

What is our strategy? I have probably outlined that our strategy is to build the strongest scientific case possible. In many cases, there are stocks without much of a scientific basis for an International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES, recommendation. However, the Marine Institute may have additional information over and above the normal data used for a mariculture sustainability index, MSI, calculation or whatever. We should use the information we have to build a case, based on limited data in some cases, but at least it is based on something. We are better off using the data we have rather than applying an arbitrary or precautionary 20% cut because there is insufficient information for a full MSI picture. There may be a miscalculation in respect of some of the recommendations coming from ICES because of a lack of data on some stocks and, if so, this should be corrected. Certainly, we will go about doing that.

The issue of timing was raised but this must be done in December. We cannot enter January without quotas or else we cannot go fishing. Unlike many of the decisions taken at a European level, whereby one can sometimes push a decision back to next month or next year, one reason decisions on total allowable catch, efforts and quotas are agreed at 5 a.m. is that we must get a result in December. There is no alternative or the alternative is that people cannot go fishing in December because there is no quota allocation. This is something that needs to be resolved between 18 and 20 December and if we have to stay up all night to get it done, then so be it. That is what happened last year. I remember sitting around the table at 4 a.m. deciding whether we could live with it or whether we could get a better deal. It is a tribute to the people working on my team, most of whom are present, in terms of their commitment to the industry that even at 4 a.m. they insisted on the best possible deal for from an Irish perspective.

Deputy Harrington asked a question about cuts. We are not going to support arbitrary cuts unless they are justifiable. One progressive journey we have made in the Irish fishing industry in the past ten years relates to an acceptance within the industry now that we need to cut total allowable catch and quotas when it is necessary to protect stocks. This is the reason we have seen encouraging data, even between last year and this year, in terms of the percentage of fish stocks in Ireland not under pressure now versus previously. There is an improving situation, despite the negative coverage the fishing industry sometimes gets with regard to discards, overfishing and so on. The statistics show that the fishing industry is getting better year after year in terms of sustainable fishing and the sustainable management of stocks.

I am keen to continue this trend and over time I want to end discards. We will do this together with the industry in a way that is practical and pragmatic by more targeting of fish for which we have quota and by examining such issues as mesh size, escape hatches, the shape of nets and a series of technical measures that can allow us to target fish more accurately. All of this is relevant whether it relates to avoiding catching cod in the Irish Sea when we are catching prawns or whether it relates to the cod, haddock and whiting fishery in the Celtic Sea, where we need to be more targeted with regard to juveniles and so on.

The fishing industry is leading that debate, and people need to know that. The fishing sector is not without its problems. Some people break the rules, and in those instances we need to enforce the rules. If we look at how fishing takes place now compared with five years ago, the story has improved in the past five years. We need to continue that trend to ensure we continue to have a fishing industry, or have a bigger fishing industry than we currently have. That is possible.

Members may want me to address mackerel issues. We have a particular difficulty with mackerel in terms of the coastal states negotiations with Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway. There is massive overfishing of mackerel by Iceland and the Faroe Islands in a way that is totally irresponsible and is damaging the stock in a way that could result in a dramatic reduction in quota for everybody. This would be a disaster, particularly because the management of mackerel by European fishing fleets has been responsible and has resulted in a significant increase in that stock. Everyone should be benefitting from that now. Instead, two countries have decided to help themselves to as much mackerel as they can catch and are even bringing in mercenaries from other countries to catch more. As a result, we are facing a 15% cut in the mackerel total allowable catch. Even the industry accepts that, on the basis of advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES. The European Commission is asking us to accept a cut of more than 15% to compensate for the overfishing of Iceland and Faroe Islands. We are being asked to accept significant reductions of our most valuable stock to compensate for the overfishing that is going to continue, as far as we can see. This needs a political rather than a fishing solution. That is why we have pushed the Commission to introduce trade sanctions against the fish products the Faroe Islands and Iceland sell into the European Union. We are trying to get a common position with Norway, which shares this stock and manages it responsibly, as the European Union does.

The committee has heard me speaking on this issue before. I feel very strongly about it. Mackerel is worth more than €100 million for fishermen in Ireland and we are seeing a cut in the stock when we should be seeing an increase in the total allowable catch because of the management of mackerel stocks over the past five to ten years. That is because of the grossly irresponsible behaviour of two countries that are making a huge amount of money out of overfishing mackerel when it is very valuable. One of the reasons mackerel prices have dropped dramatically in the past six months is because of that overfishing and the way the fish is sold, primarily into Asian countries.

The mackerel story is separate from everything else. There are some positive stories on the pelagic side, especially regarding landings of blue whiting into Ireland. I am both annoyed and concerned about where the mackerel debate is going. We still do not have the solution.

Most of the December negotiations, however, will focus on whitefish. We have our priority stocks. There are not many upsides to having a relative stability agreement whereby countries like France, and after that Spain, have the largest whitefish quota in waters for which Ireland is responsible. One of the upsides, however, is that those countries also have a vested interest in negotiating aggressively for an improvement in the TAC for those quotas. Again, we will be trying to find the science to make a case for that. We will see other countries arguing for an increase in quota that will result in Irish fishermen getting an increase in TAC. That is one of the ironic by-products of our having to share fish stocks in the waters for which we are responsible.

Primarily, we will be focusing on the whitefish stocks that are most valuable to our industry in volume and value and we will be trying to put the best scientific case we can for a more reasonable but sustainable TAC next year. That approach worked last year. I will do everything I can to make sure it works again this year. I have a hugely committed team around me to make the best possible effort to do that.