Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and members of the committee. I welcome this opportunity to present the SIA to the committee today. As in previous years, a rigorous assessment has been undertaken to examine the implications for Ireland of the potential fishing opportunities for the year ahead. The past few years, as we know, have been particularly challenging for our fishing industry. In addition to the continuing fuel crisis, the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and the quota transfers under the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement, TCA, are still having an effect. I assure the Chairperson that I as Minister and the Government continue to keep the focus on the disproportionate quota reductions for Ireland under the TCA and to use any and every opportunity available to seek constructive solutions that would help to alleviate this unacceptable position. I am keeping a strong focus on the matter within the Fisheries Council and making it clear that the TCA transfers must be addressed within the EU.

The UK’s withdrawal from the EU has also led to significant changes to the processes involved in setting total allowable catches, TACs, for the majority of our commercial fish stocks. Approximately 40 of Ireland’s fish stocks, which were previously exclusively European Union resources, are now shared resources, most shared with the UK. The Commission has the sole competence to negotiate with third countries on behalf of the EU for the setting of fishing opportunities for shared stocks. Unfortunately, the UK now counts as a third country. The bilateral negotiations between the Commission, on behalf of the EU, and the UK are due to begin in November and I will go into more detail on these consultations in a moment. Based on the experience of the last year post Brexit and the changes, this has led to in the procedures for setting fishing opportunities for the EU, I decided that the SIA process should commence at the start of October rather than later to be as relevant as possible. The SIA is an essential step in Ireland’s preparation for the TAC setting process and I want to have the process completed before we commence the EU-UK consultations. Carrying out the process at this stage allows for input from stakeholders, analysis by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, BIM, and the Marine Institute and the views of the Oireachtas in time for the start of the TAC setting process. As the Chair outlined, I am joined by two representatives, Dr. Ciaran Kelly from the Marine Institute, who is a scientific expert, and Mr. Dominic Rihan, a socioeconomic impact expert from Bord Iascaigh Mhara. As the Chair outlined, Ms Josephine Kelly and Dr. Cecil Beamish from my own team are also in attendance.

I decided to again use the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES's, scientific advice as the basis for this year’s SIA. The ICES advice forms the basis of the scientific advice used by the Commission. The ICES gathers scientific advice; its advice for the relevant stock provides suitable guidance for the TAC figures which would normally be proposed by the Commission. This allowed for a meaningful public consultation and for realistic engagement with our stakeholders. It allowed the Marine Institute and BIM to produce the biological and socioeconomic impact assessments to inform us. The waters surrounding Ireland contain some of the most productive fishing grounds in the EU. We have a duty of care and a national self-interest to protect their biological richness and, as such, they must be managed responsibly and sustainably. The landing obligation, which aims to eliminate the wasteful and unsustainable practice of discarding fish, has been fully implemented since 2019. The practical application of the landing obligation has been challenging for operators, requiring changes in fishing practices and behaviour. However, my Department along with BIM continue to work together with fishers to adapt and develop the most selective and sustainable fishing methods. The efforts and commitment of our fishers in this matter have been and remain important.

Another key feature of the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, is the setting of TACs and quotas to deliver maximum sustainable yield. Fishing at maximum sustainable yield, FMSY, is the largest average catch or yield that can continuously be taken from a stock under existing environmental conditions. Of course, in the past, a failure to fish at FMSY and a failure also to have the scientific assessment that we so rely on led to overfishing in some instances of stocks and a depletion of stocks. It is important for sustainable stocks every year going forward that we do not take any more from that stock than would undermine its health and the size of the stock so that the fish will be there next year and the year after. Progress is being achieved in terms of the sustainability of fish stocks. For 2022, 38 stocks of interest to Ireland have been fished below maximum sustainable yield. In 2013, only 20 stocks were fished at this sustainable level. It is now up at 38 from 20 back in 2013. The number of stocks overfished is 15 in 2022, down from 22 in previous years. This is a significant achievement and Ireland will continue to work with stakeholders, the Commission, other member states and third countries to build on this tangible progress to achieve our objectives of healthy fish stocks and sustainable fishing.

I would also like to take this opportunity to update the committee on the upcoming report by the European Commission on the functioning of the CFP. Under the CFP regulation, the European Commission is required to report to the European Parliament and the European Council on the functioning of the CFP by the end of this year.

The Commission has indicated that its report on the functioning of the CFP will take the form of a communication, analysing the dimensions of the CFP and looking at the interaction between fisheries management and the objectives of the European Green Deal. In addition, the communication will address the social dimension of the CFP and consider how to improve the delivery of the CFP policy objectives. I have consistently made clear the Government’s assessment that the substantial changes brought about in fisheries policy as a result of the TCA, requires that a comprehensive review of the CFP be carried out within the EU to support changes to deliver a fair and equitable policy.

Earlier this year, I established a national Common Fisheries Policy review group, bringing together relevant stakeholders to examine the issues that arise for Ireland in the context of the CFP review; to advise me on priorities for the negotiations; and importantly, to identify strategies most likely to influence the outcome of the review. The group was chaired by Mr. John Malone, former Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine who was assisted by a steering committee comprising Mr. Micheál Ó Cinneide, former director of the Marine Institute and the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA; and Mr. Donal Maguire, former director of BIM. I thank the three of them and all stakeholders for their work.

The group involved representatives of all key stakeholders, including industry representative groups, fisheries representatives and the environmental NGOs. That review group submitted its final report to me on 5 August 2022. The stakeholders have set out a number of recommendations on aspects of the CFP that need to be addressed to adapt to the monumental changes of recent years and ensure a sustainable future for the sector.

I have forwarded a copy of the report to the EU fisheries Commissioner, Virginijus Sinkeviius, who is responsible for the CFP review. I have made clear that I am fully satisfied that our stakeholders’ report demonstrates the need for legislative changes in the current policy to address the disproportionate impacts of the TCA on Ireland in the context of the new environmental challenges we are facing. I have asked him to review the report's findings and recommendations and consider how these can be taken forward to support a fair and balanced CFP.

I will now touch on the EU-UK consultations that are a key step in moving forward the quota negotiations for next year. The bilateral consultations with the UK for 2023 for shared stocks are due to begin at the start of November. The SIA process and the committee's input today will help to develop Ireland’s position during the upcoming negotiations. The negotiations will be led by the European Commission on behalf of all member states. I and my team will be fully engaged at EU level to ensure that Ireland’s interests are recognised and pursued with Commissioner Sinkeviius and his team. We are hopeful that agreement can be reached in time to allow the outcome to be discussed at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 12 and 13 December 2022 and feed into the TAC and quotas regulation for 2023.

I will insist that the Hague preferences are applied at the December council for the relevant fish stocks. However, if an EU-UK agreement is not secured, a contingency plan is in place to ensure fishing can continue at the start of 2023 without interruption. Under the Trade and Co-operation Agreement, in the event that agreement with the UK cannot be reached by 20 December, the TCA provides for each party to set provisional TACs applying from 1 January at the scientific level advised by ICES. In previous years, the Commission developed a plan for provisional TACs for the first three months of the year. This saw TACs for most stocks set at 25% of the previous year’s TAC level, with the full TAC applied for coastal state stocks such as mackerel and blue whiting, which are seasonal, at the start of the year. While this situation is not ideal, it will provides certainty and continuity for the fishing industry in the New Year, if needed.

I will turn to management arrangements for three migratory species in the north east Atlantic in which we have an interest. They are blue whiting, atlanto-scandian herring and mackerel. The arrangements for these are negotiated by means of a coastal states framework between the parties in whose waters significant concentrations of these stocks are to be found and that have normally had a track record in fishing them. The coastal states negotiations for 2023 commenced last week in London. Agreement was reached on setting the TACs for atlanto-scandian herring at 511,000 tonnes. The EU, and Ireland, have a relatively small share of this stock. It is also likely that the coastal states will agree on setting the TAC for mackerel at 782,000 tonnes in line with the ICES advice, although this has not been finalised yet.

The ICES advice is based on the FMSY approach and represents a reduction of 2% compared to last year's TAC. The TAC for blue whiting has not yet been agreed. ICES calls for an 81% increase but the coastal states are continuing discussions as there is divergence of opinion as to whether all the increase should be applied. The 2014 sharing arrangement for mackerel between the EU, Norway and the Faroe Islands expired at the end of 2020. Discussions aimed at reaching a new agreement on a new sharing arrangement for mackerel began earlier this year and are ongoing. I have been clear on the need to agree a sharing arrangement for mackerel that respects the EU and, in turn, Ireland’s proper share of the global TAC.

We continue to oppose the setting of unacceptably high unilateral quotas for mackerel by a number of third countries. I have articulated our concerns about what has happened over the past two years, in particular at the EU fisheries Council and directly to Commissioner Sinkeviius. If this unacceptable behaviour is continued in 2023 by these countries, the EU must work together and use all available tools to ensure real and effective consequences for such behaviour. The coastal state parties have also committed to begin discussions for new sharing arrangements for atlanto-scandian herring and blue whiting early in 2023.

I will move on to the SIA. In order for the SIA to be carried out, the ICES scientific advice for the stocks was used as a basis for the assessment. As part of the assessment, an open consultation process was initiated, whereby stakeholders were asked to submit their comments and observations on the ICES advice for fish stocks for next year; and on the European Commission’s communication, Towards more sustainable fishing in the EU: state of play and orientations for 2023. and its accompanying staff working document. An online web portal atwas activated on 12 October to enable the transmission of electronic submissions for consideration. Two submissions to the public consultation were received. The full content of all the submissions received by the deadline will be published on the website. In addition to the written submissions, I convened a meeting of stakeholders including fishing industry representatives and environmental NGOs last week on 20 October. The purpose of the meeting was to give a further opportunity to representatives to outline their positions on the many aspects of the communication and on the scientific advice. I thank all the stakeholders for their contributions to the impact assessment.

The stakeholders set out a range of positions. However, there were also many commonalities. I agree with many of the sentiments expressed through the consultation process, which, as a whole, I consider to have the same objective of sustainable fishing and the protection of our fishing resource and our marine ecosystem. There is a clear call for adherence to the advice on setting TACs in accordance with FMSY. We must also make use of the provisions of the western waters multi-annual plan to deal with stocks where scientific advice indicates the stock is in poor shape. In recent years, to reduce catches of depleted stocks in mixed fisheries, TACs were set as by-catch only, at levels that help the biomass of these vulnerable stocks to recover to sustainable levels. These were complemented by remedial technical measures in the Celtic Sea, the west of Scotland and Irish Sea. The Marine Institute and BIM made invaluable contributions to the assessment of the ICES advice, which is contained in the sea fisheries sustainability impact assessment before the committee today. I will briefly set out the findings contained in that assessment.

From a purely biological perspective, the Marine Institute’s view, which coincides with the ICES view, is that the status of some fish stocks has improved, which is welcome. However, others remain a concern. In the impact assessment, the Marine Institute summarises the pressure on the 75 stocks that will be dealt with in the 2022 stock book and compares this assessment with the same evaluation presented in previous years’ stock books. The number of stocks being fished in a sustainable manner has increased to 38. In terms of percentages, this is an increase to 51%. The percentage of stocks overfished is currently 20%. The number of stocks with unknown status has decreased to 22 because of increased and improved scientific advice and research. It is good to see stocks continue on an upwards trend for next year. It must be remembered that there were only 20 stocks fished in a sustainable manner as recently as 2013 and we now have 38.

There are multiple reasons stocks have unknown status, including short-time series of biological data, conflicting data inputs, low catches or insufficient sampling data, or indeed missing catch information. Over time, the percentage of stocks with unknown pressure and state indicators has declined. The specific details for all stocks are available in the sustainability impact assessment, SIA, which will be laid before the Dáil. For further information, the fish stocks of interest to Ireland are available in the stock book which is prepared annually. This is a large piece of work by the Marine Institute and is available on its website

Regarding the economic and social impact, BIM has based the socioeconomic assessment on the ICES advice, where available. In cases where the ICES advice was not yet available or where ICES had provided zero-catch advice for stock, a rollover of last year's TACs was assumed so that the assessment of these stocks could be carried out by BIM. ICES advice for nephrops, or prawns, as we know them commonly, is expected to be released on 28 October, so we do not have that yet. In advance of the advice and to assist consideration of the stocks in the Celtic and Irish seas, different scenarios of a 10% reduction, a straightforward rollover, and a 10% increase were examined as this is an important stock for our fishing industry. It is our second most valuable stock across the sector. It is important to highlight that the estimates of BIM may change, depending on the final quotas and the total allowable catches agreed between the EU and the UK. As this advice is for a single stock assessment, we can expect significant changes for stocks in mixed fisheries where a particular stock is depleted. This is the case, for example, for cod stocks around the coast, and the total allowable catches for commercial stocks for cod as a by-catch will be set to support the protection and rebuilding of the depleted stocks.

If the TACs were to be agreed on the basis of the assumptions I have mentioned, we would see a net increase in fishing opportunity of 2% by volume in tonnes but a reduction of 6% in value. This amounts to a direct income reduction of €13 million. For the demersal whitefish sector, this would mean a reduction of 12% in volume of fishing activity and a reduction of 6% by value, with a direct income loss of €6.2 million. For the pelagic sector, this would result in a reduction of 5% by volume and 7% by value, with a direct income reduction of €6.9 million. This is primarily due to the decrease in horse mackerel where ICES provided zero-catch advice for next year. This would, however, be partially offset by following the significant increase in the advice for blue whiting, which has a recommended increase of 81%.

In addition to the direct losses to the fleet of quota reductions, income would also be lost from the processing sector as a result of reduced catches and in a number of ancillary industries such as net making, chandlery, engineering and refrigeration. This would obviously have a knock-on effect for employment. Bord Iascaigh Mhara further estimates, on the basis of the most recent employment surveys of the catching sector, that if the TACs were set in accordance with the single stock advice, it could impact 400 full-time and part-time jobs. This could occur either through reduced incomes or partial layoffs or redundancies in the seafood sector.

The Hague Preferences, which are the additional amounts of quota that Ireland can claim for important whitefish stocks when the TACs fall below set levels, are negotiated annually at the Fisheries Council in December. They cannot be taken for granted. Many member states often strenuously object to the application of the additional quota for Ireland. Ensuring the preferences are applied will be a key political priority for my Department at the December meeting.

The sea fisheries sustainability impact assessment we are discussing here today provides a good picture of the state of stock and possible implications for 2023. I thank and acknowledge those who contributed to the production of the impact assessment. While the assessment is based on the ICES advice rather than TACs proposed by the European Commission, it does highlight the potential for significant impacts on the Irish fishing industry. There are some stocks where ICES has issued-zero-catch advice. However, with the implementation of the landing obligation and the requirement to land all catches, including by-catches from such stocks, this would lead to choke situations in mixed fisheries. The EU and the UK previously established specific TACs for by-catches for these stocks to avoid fisheries being choked. This highlights the difficulty of fishing all stocks in a mixed fishery and a maximum sustainable yield, MSY, fishery at the same time, so it is challenging. We need to strike a balance between the potential for severe socioeconomic impacts and the need to achieve good environmental status for the stock. I would be supportive of a similar approach as was taken in previous years for these depleted stocks.

I look forward to hearing and answering any questions members have.