Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

All this needs to be predicated on what fish are available. That is the other issue. If, for whatever reason, the stocks are not available, that has to form part of the discussion. I am keen on meeting the Marine Institute. What I would like to see is in all the different areas we are looking at, whether it is mackerel or bluefin, is to have the Marine Institute in here to tell us what the science is saying about the stocks and then the Department to talk about the policy on that. There needs to be a plan for the inshore sector that looks at all those different elements to see what growth there could possibly be.

I am more than happy to have a chat with Mr. Desmond about the sprat fishery. There is a reason I am coming at it the way I am coming at it. He mentioned sustainable management. That is key to everything I will be doing on the fisheries committee because if there is not sustainable management of the fisheries, the fishers will not be there. My priority will be to make sure that there is a really strong inshore sector, but that has to be done hand-in-hand with the science and the fish stocks as well. I am more than happy to chat to him.