Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response, although it probably raises more questions than it answers. There are a number of issues. There has been much concern over the past four to six weeks about the operation of these vessels off the west coast. As the Minister has said, there are four vessels there today and at various stages there have been four or five operating continually over the past number of weeks. The Minister mentioned control measures etc. that have been discussed at the North Western Waters Regional Advisory Council. Would it be possible for the SFPA or the Naval Service to ask these vessels to come closer to shore to allow an inspection where it is safe to do so? Is that not something that would be within the control suite of measures that the Naval Service or SFPA could use? The Margirisis today only a couple of hours out of Killybegs and Bruckless Bay. If she could be instructed to come in and be inspected, at least it would be something.

The Naval Service and the SFPA have continually indicated over the past number of weeks that the weather has been too bad to allow any boardings. Is the Naval Service sitting off these vessels or watching what they are doing? The Margiris, according to the SFPA, has only a quota for horse mackerel in Irish waters and has no quota for anything else. Therefore, if the Margirisis not catching clean horse mackerel, it must be breaching the discard ban in place since 1 January. What visual inspections are taking place and what monitoring is ongoing? Are we relying on their electronic log book as a way of trying to police the operations of this vessel? The quota is for horse mackerel only and there must be something else happening. My information from fishermen is that it is difficult to get clean horse mackerel off the west coast of Ireland at this time of year, particularly with the bad weather we have had as well. The weather disperses the horse mackerel, even if it was clean, and breaks them up. What was the Department, the Naval Service or the SFPA doing over the past four or five weeks on this?

The Minister indicated in his contribution that inspection procedures are standardised and harmonised for all stages in the market chain, including transport and marketing. As I understand it, there is a requirement when fish are sold at the home port etc. that this must be reported as well through the EU process. In one example, Spanish vessels have sustainable fishing certification for hake within Irish waters but it is noted in that certification that there are no returns of sale figures when the fish are landed in Spanish ports. Do we have the same problem when the Margirislands in Holland? What figures are received for what is caught in exclusive Irish zones, for example? How are people sure about what is happening?

A couple of weeks ago the Margirisand other vessels towed away large numbers of crab pots belonging to fishermen in Donegal. I have been advised by the SFPA that this is a criminal matter; it is reportable to the Garda and not covered-----