Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Mythen for his contributions and perspective. I agree with him about coastal states. It is very difficult to force people to act responsibly when we do not have control over them. Within the European Union all member states take a responsible approach. We have seen the maximum sustainable yield of a number of fish increase significantly in recent years, and that process continues. Fish are a migratory stock and that is why the European Union manages the waters of the various member states collectively, because fish do not know boundaries and different member states can fish what is in their waters if they have direct access to them but in order to maintain the fish and not have them overfished and done away with, we must co-operate in order to make sure that they are fished in a way that ensures they are there and can continue to be fished in the future.

The situation with mackerel, the coastal states and the agreements with Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, is not sustainable and will lead to the depletion of those stocks and everyone biting off his or her own nose. I have been strong on this issue at Council level, as have other member states. We are looking to see what tools we can bring to the table to try to bring a sensible and sustainable approach to managing this. The situation has been frustrating, most of all for the fishers in Ireland and the rest of the EU, who are acting responsibly while watching others not do the same.

We have seen some stocks reducing and some increasing. Overall, though, there has been a reduction in volume and value. During the negotiations at Council meetings, I will do my best to get a strong outcome for Ireland. We must work in a way that recognises what a sustainable yield is this year, as we want to see fisheries every year and the recovery of stocks, which will lead to improvements. We have already seen it in some stocks. We are following the scientific advice across the stocks. It is important that we do so.

I agree with the Deputy about hake preferences. They are important and we cannot take them for granted. It is always a possibility that other member states could step in and prevent them being applied, as we need the fisheries Council’s agreement on the preferences every year. My team and I are working via our relationships with other member states to ensure the preferences will still be applied and respected. We must continue working on that, as the preferences are not something we can take for granted.