Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to present this sustainability impact assessment to the committee. A rigorous assessment, as in previous years, has been undertaken to examine the implications for Ireland of the EU Commission's proposals for the fixing of total allowable catches, TACs, for the coming year.

The European Commission proposal was issued on 7 November and several non-papers updating the proposal have issued since. The final arrangements for 2018 are due to be negotiated at the Council scheduled for 11 and 12 December. The levels of total allowable catch, TAC, and the quotas for Ireland will be determined at that meeting following intensive negotiations with member states and the European Commission.

The waters surrounding Ireland contain some of the most productive fishing grounds in the EU. We have a duty of care to protect their biological richness and, as such, they must be managed responsibly and sustainably. Ireland’s total allocation of quotas in 2017 amounted to 233,500 tonnes with a total value of €280 million. There are also valuable inshore species which are not subject to EU TACs, such as crab, whelk, scallop and lobster, and are fished by the Irish fleet inside our six-mile coastal zone.

The process of preparing for the Council is now well under way. The proposal covers stocks which are not subject to third party international agreements and are, in the main, whitefish and prawn stocks. Stocks which are subject to ongoing international negotiations such as blue whiting are not included in the proposal as yet.

With regard to the coastal State pelagic stocks, the mackerel TAC was agreed in October. The new quota for Irish fishermen for 2018 will be 69,143 tonnes. There was new scientific advice this year which showed that, while the stock is in good shape, a precautionary approach for long-term sustainability was necessary with a significant reduction in quota recommended. Accordingly, following careful consideration of scientific advice of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, ICES, and discussions with the Marine Institute and industry stakeholders, I supported a reduction, in line with the agreed long-term management strategy, in the quota for 2018.

The blue whiting negotiations will hopefully be concluded in early December. This agreement involves some transfer of blue whiting to Norway. I will be seeking to keep that transfer as low as possible. The EU-Norway negotiations began in Bergen, Norway, yesterday and will last all week.

Next year will see the continued phasing-in of the landing obligation or discards ban. This was a central element of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and agreed by all member states, as well as the European Parliament. It will, in effect, phase out the dumping of perfectly good fish at sea and end the catching and discarding of juvenile fish. This is a common-sense goal but the obligation comes with significant challenges. We must be determined to face these challenges head on, if we are to ensure the sustainability of our vibrant coastal communities which depend on healthy fish stocks. That is why I have, in co-operation with my colleagues from other member states, requested that the landing obligation and, in particular, the issue of choke species be discussed at the December Council. There are several challenges that can only be addressed by common action from the Commission and the member states. I will be pursuing this issue vigorously.

One of the key objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy is maximum sustainable yield, FMSY. This is the largest average catch or yield which can continuously be taken from a stock under existing conditions without damaging the future returns from it. Our shared ultimate objective is to bring and maintain our fish stocks to levels that can deliver FMSY by 2020 at the latest. However, in line with the Common Fisheries Policy, it is being implemented in a progressive manner and its introduction may only be delayed if a strong case can be made that its immediate application seriously jeopardises the social and economic sustainability of the fishing fleets involved.

The proposals are based on formal advice received from ICES, the independent international body with responsibility for advising on the state of fish stocks. It also takes account of the views of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, STECF, which gives the Commission its views on the economic, technical and social impacts of the scientific advice. To inform my negotiations at the December Fisheries Council, I have had an assessment of the impacts of the Commission proposal undertaken. To facilitate the assessment, an open consultation process was initiated, whereby stakeholders were asked to submit their comments and observations on the Commission proposal for fishing opportunities for 2018.

From 7 November, an online web portal on www.fishingnet.iewas activated to enable the transmission of electronic submissions for consideration. These portals remained open until 22 November and in all four submissions were received by the closing date. The full content of all the submissions received by the deadline will be published on the fishingnet.iewebsite.

In addition to the written submissions, I convened a meeting of stakeholders, fishing industry representatives and environmental NGOs, on 24 November. The purpose of this meeting was to give a further opportunity to the main stakeholders to outline their positions on the many aspects of this proposal. Unfortunately, due to personal circumstances, I was unable to attend in person but I have been fully appraised by my officials of the views expressed. I thank all the various stakeholders for their contributions to this impact assessment.

As always, there were a range of views among stakeholders. However, there were also commonalities and I agree with many of the sentiments expressed through the consultation process. These include a call for adherence to the available scientific advice to enable responsible and appropriate management decisions to be taken. This however must be balanced with the concern that major cuts to TACs could have severe socio-economic impacts. In that context, I will not support cuts unless I am satisfied they are absolutely necessary and fully supported by rigorously assessed and clear scientific evidence. To illustrate what we are facing next week, some of the cuts for some of our important stocks will involve a cut of 62% in herring in the Celtic Sea, 34% for haddock in the Celtic Sea, 59% for whiting in the Celtic Sea and 12% for monkfish in the Celtic Sea.

Following the consultation process and the expert advice of the Marine Institute, I do not believe that all these reductions in quota are either justified or necessary. However, I accept cuts where the scientific advice available to me makes the case for such reductions. The Marine Institute and BIM have again this year made an invaluable contribution to the assessment of the Commission’s proposal, which is contained in the sea fisheries sustainability impact assessment before the committee.

From a purely biological perspective, the Marine Institute’s view, which coincides with the ICES view, is that there has been an improvement in the status of some fish stocks. However, others remain a concern, namely, in the areas west of Scotland and in the Irish Sea. In the impact assessment, the Marine Institute summarises the pressure on the 74 stocks dealt with in the 2017 stock book and compares this assessment with the same evaluation presented in previous years stock books. There is a higher number of sustainably fished stocks, 29, and percentage, 39%, in 2017 compared with last year. The percentage, 23%, and number of stocks, 17, overfished have also increased in 2017, whereas the stocks with unknown status declined slightly from 31 to 28 or 42% to 38%. The specific details for all stocks are available in the document which has been laid before the Dáil and in the stock book, which was prepared by the Marine Institute and is available on its website.

The socio-economic impact assessment of the Commission’s proposals does not fully account for Ireland’s share of fishing opportunities. The current proposals exclude a number of important stocks, mackerel, horse-mackerel and blue whiting, where the final European Union TAC, as well as member states’ quotas, depend on external, third country, agreements.

If agreed as they currently stand, the Commission’s proposals would see net reduction in fishing opportunity, quotas of 27% by volume, tonnes, and 12% by value. In financial terms, this amounts to a direct income reduction of €17.4 million. A net reduction in fishing opportunity for the demersal sector, whitefish and nephrops, of 21% by volume and 10% by value would have a direct income reduction of €12.9 million. A net reduction in fishing opportunity for the pelagic sector of 34% by volume and 39% by value would have a direct income reduction of €4.56 million. This is due mainly to a decrease in boarfish and Celtic Sea herring.

For north-west stocks in area 6, there would be a 6% reduction in fishing opportunity, valued at €460,000, for the demersal, whitefish and prawn, fleets. This will directly impact the ports of Greencastle and Killybegs. For the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and west coast, area 7, stocks it is estimated there will be 23% reduction in fishing opportunity for the demersal fleet. This reduction is valued at €10.8 million and will directly impact the ports of Clogherhead, Howth, Dunmore East, Kilmore Quay, Dingle, Castletownbere, and Ros a’ Mhíl, as well as other smaller ports.

In addition to the direct losses to the fleet, income is also lost from the processing sector as a direct result of reduced catches and in several ancillary industries, such as net-making, chandlery, engineering and refrigeration. Based on turnover multipliers from fish landed in distinct Irish ports, BIM estimates the full costs, direct, indirect and induced, of the proposed quota reductions are in the order of €54 million. This will obviously have a knock-on effect for employment. BIM further estimates, on the basis of the most recent employment surveys of the catching sector, these reductions could impact between 200 and 300 full and part-time jobs.

This could occur either through reduced incomes, partial lay-offs or redundancies in the seafood sector.

The proposals do not include the Hague Preferences which are a safety net for the Irish fleet in the case of specific stocks, in respect of which total allowable catches, TACs, are in decline. Essentially, they are additional quota amounts Ireland and the United Kingdom claim for important whitefish stocks. Many member states object strenuously to their application as the additional quotas comes off their allocations. Ensuring the preferences are applied will be a key political objective for me in the negotiations. The loss of these allocations in 2018 will amount to 2,726 tonnes of fish, with a direct value of €5 million and an associated impact on between 60 and 80 full and part-time jobs, either through reduced incomes, partial lay-offs or redundancies.

I fully concur with the findings made in the sea fisheries sustainability impact assessment. It highlights the significant impact the current proposals could have on the fishing industry. Significant challenges lie ahead in the next two weeks, but I will do my utmost to agree to a fair and balanced package for Ireland that will ensure the continued vibrancy of the fishing industry and the long-term sustainability of stocks. I thank and acknowledge all those who contributed to the production of the impact assessment and look forward to the debate on the conclusions reached.