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

First, the committee has asked me to deal with the reporting requirements of fishing vessels entering Ireland's exclusive fisheries zone. In terms of quotas, all fishing opportunities are set down for member states in the total allowable catch and quota regulation each year. Quotas are not allocated in respect of member states' exclusive fisheries zones, but are instead set out in relation to one or more International Commission for the Exploration of the Seas, ICES, areas. ICES areas cut across exclusive fisheries zone boundaries. The quota allocations associated with each ICES area or areas of operation must be strictly adhered to by individual member states. Furthermore, the collection and transmission of catch and landings data is mandatory. However, the EU does not require vessels to inform the coastal member state of the quota made available to them when entering the exclusive fisheries zone to fish.

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, has advised me that the following arrangements apply. On entering Ireland's exclusive fisheries zone, the vessel's vessel monitoring system will provide the national fisheries monitoring centre at the naval base in Haulbowline with its position, which is in turn relayed to all naval vessels at sea and to all SFPA port offices. The plots of the vessel's position are recorded every 15 minutes, with the operational display refreshed every two hours, while the vessel is operational in Irish waters. The 15-minute positions are held within the vessel's system on board and can be called down if a catch area review is required, for which two-hourly records would not be sufficient. When the vessel commences fishing, its electronic reporting system will open the vessel's fishing logbook to be viewed by the fisheries monitoring centre and, in turn, all SFPA operational staff, and will relay by way of submission of records by the vessel master the detail of the fishing gear in use, the duration of each fishing operation, the location by longitude and latitude of the fishing operation, and the species, catches and discards, should they occur, in kilogrammes while the vessel is active in Irish waters.

In respect of the overall framework for fisheries controls in the EU, in October 2009, a new regulation dealing with fisheries' controls was adopted. Council regulation No. 1224 of 2009 establishes a community controlled system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy. Control and inspection are now focused where they are most effective, through an approach based on systematic risk analysis. Inspection procedures are standardised and harmonised for all stages in the market chain, including transport and marketing. The control regulations were introduced in order that there is a common EU level playing field and to provide for an effective range of controls across EU waters.

The committee also requested that I address the possibility that large freezer fishing vessels carry on board independent fisheries monitoring personnel for periods of operation in Ireland’s exclusive fisheries zone. The SFPA and the Naval Service, through the fisheries monitoring centre, has monitored the movements of these vessels when in our exclusive fisheries zone using the vessel monitoring system, automatic identification system, and declared catches through the electronic reporting system or the electronic logbook, as it is known. I am advised that there are four freezer vessels currently in our exclusive fisheries zone and that no inspections have been conducted in recent days due to adverse weather conditions. These are ships. To board one of these vessels, the weather must allow one to do it safely. These vessels operate quite a long way out to sea most of the time and if one drops a rigid inflatable boat from a naval vessel, heavy swell would make it very difficult to go alongside this vessel to get on board. The Naval Service is very conscious of the concern and is anxious to make boardings and assessments.

This risk assessment had informed the SFPA’s identification of some of these vessels as a high priority for at-sea inspection and aircraft surveillance. The SFPA is reliant on the seagoing fishery patrol activity of the Naval Service to verify compliance of vessels not landing into Ireland. The weather has been particularly severe in the recent past. Boarding vessels of this size at sea creates specific challenges and to date the operational decision of the Naval Service has been that weather has been too severe to attempt a boarding operation safely. I am advised that the Naval Service has ships on patrol and is ready to conduct boarding operations on these vessels when weather conditions permit.

In terms of the control measures available to the control authorities, within the north-west waters member states group we are examining additional control measures to support the landing obligation. The ban on discarding pelagic stocks, such as herring and mackerel, came into effect on 1 January 2015. A control experts group from the north-west waters member states group has been set up and has produced a draft set of recommendations on additional control measures for the pelagic sector in respect of the landing obligation in pelagic fisheries. The views of the Pelagic Advisory Council on the recommendations have been received and will be fully considered. The draft recommendations of the control experts and the Pelagic Advisory Council's views are being considered by the north-west waters member states group. That is a group of countries that are fishing in similar areas and have similar interests which collectively try to make strategic policy and implementation decisions.

The measures recommended by the control experts cover a range of actions, including the use of cameras or other remote sensing equipment, on all large pelagic vessels, both freezer vessels and our own refrigerated seawater tank vessels, to support the landing obligation. It also recommends control observers “for individual trips to address dynamically-assessed risks of a more transient nature”. It is important to note that the flag member state would be responsible for placing control observers on its vessels. Any strengthened control measures must provide tools to both the flag member state and the coastal member state to monitor and control fishing activities better. I would not be satisfied with the idea that a Dutch-owned vessel would have a Dutch observer while in Irish waters. We need to reassure people, and the way to do that is to have Irish controls in place in the waters for which we have responsibility. We will continue to work closely with the north-west waters member states group to identify the control actions that are most useful in order that the landing obligation is fully respected.

Finally, it is important to point out that the control of fishing vessels within Ireland's exclusive fisheries zone is a matter for the Irish control authorities who monitor fishing activity of all vessels operating in the area. As Minister, I am precluded from getting involved with the operational matters, including those relating to law enforcement. That is for a good reason in terms of experience. I hope that is a helpful statement but I can answer questions if people have them.