Mr. John Lynch:

I was not sure whether I or Mr. Murphy was to come in next. I thank the Senator for the question. What she is referring to is a specific piece of legislation, a regulation that came into effect at the start of 2016 and then progressed into effect for all species in 2019. She is right in what she said. However, one would not say that in all of the 7f and 7g areas, as designated by International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES, that one could not catch monkfish without catching sole. There are certainly areas within that massive area where one could catch monkfish without catching sole. One is always involved in mixed fisheries and that is a balance one must apply to one's own share of the quota on the day. What quota is available will dictate where one fishes and for what. It is up to the individual to balance that.

There can be accidental catches, which one is obliged to log, bring ashore and record in the logbook. As Mr. Murphy referred to earlier, we then have a system of quota balancing, whereby that quota is paid back to the State for redistribution over a period of time. Usually, the balancing statement is available two months after the issue has arisen. There is then a quota balance over a period of one month or a number of months, depending on what a fisherman's access to quota is at that time.