Dr. Ciarán Byrne:

There was a direct question for BIM on the upgrade of boats. I am not in a position to speak for BIM but I understand it ran many schemes and grants. Typically, they were aimed more at commercial inshore fisheries. We are at the start of a development in terms of survey work. We are only getting information now and the information we have provided to the committee is hot off the presses. We must sit down and chew over it, decide the best way forward, the resource and the issues involved. Only then do we bring in the stakeholders. One of the members mentioned the coastal local authorities, which have a huge remit in angling and tourism promotion. We have had some very positive interaction with Kerry County Council. Ms Campion will brief members on that. When we get a clear understanding of the figures, we will be in a position to speak to local authorities, who will be key stakeholders. Without a base of information, it is a stab in the dark.

If this is where we are now, what can we do? Mr. Maher referred to legislation and barriers to entry. Deputy Pringle asked how we can interface commercial inshore fisheries into recreational angling. That will form part of our strategy.

With regard to species under threat, a general comment is that there is pressure on many of the inshore fishing stocks. We are interested in recreational angling. To a large extent, it is a sustainable activity. When fishing with a rod and line, there is only so much angling pressure people put on a fishery. I cannot speak for my colleagues in the Marine Institute or BIM but I am sure they would concur that there is pressure on inshore stocks.

Deputy Pringle's questions also relate to the number of jobs related to sea angling. I do not subscribe to the paralysis by analysis idea but a survey such as this begets other questions, which we must answer. If we are to develop the strategy, we must have more resolution. Of the 10,000 jobs, we must decide how many to ascribe to sea angling. This involves what to do with charter skippers and what inputs we include. I concur with some of Deputy Pringle's comments on the point of entry for traditional fishermen and the kind of boats and technology they may have vis-à-vis what is needed for getting into being a charter skipper.

We have not gone into huge detail on this but from experience, there is a significant difference in the requirements, in terms of licensing, certification and health and safety, between going out potting for crabs and taking ten people out on a boat. With upgrading grants, some boats will be able to make that transition, but in other cases they will not. This raises the issue of cost, and one is then into a completely different cost category. We have to work on the issue. If this is what we will push for, we then have to make space to consider different aspects as well as how we will fund it. If the decision is to increase capacity in an area, then commensurate increases must take place in the support services, such as tackle, B&Bs and hotels. What one does not want to do is to bring people up to Arranmore Island, doing a big sell to get the local people involved in charter fishing, and then find that no visitors can get up there or that there is no accommodation for them. There is a multi-pronged strategy.

In terms of funding and supports, there will be a new version of European Fisheries Fund, EFF, called the European marine fisheries fund, and the IFI has been very active in terms of getting involved in that, because one of the pillars of that fund is diversification funds for former inshore fishermen to get into other areas. One of the areas for which we will be looking for funding is that of charter skippers. Our colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine ultimately manage that fund; however, we have been working very closely with them. I understand discussion on the fund is still at European level but we have had a number of meetings with our colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and we are making great progress in that regard.

I will now respond to Deputy McNamara's question on sea angling. He gave the good example of Doonbeg Pier. Those involved are caught between a rock and a hard place. I see our survey as being the first step in a strategy. Certain issues must be tackled and unwound. If one does it in isolation, one will end up with a lovely plan, but with a strategic plan on the shelf. Without talking to stakeholders and unwinding these specific types of instance, ultimately recreational angling is local and the money that is generated stays local. One must be able to deal with local things. To come up with a high-end product, we must deal with local issues. This applies to Doonbeg Pier in County Clare and is replicated around the country. I foresee our tackling these issues as part of the next phase of understanding the numbers and expanding the resource. The Deputy also raised specific questions on sea lice and the impact they have on sea angling. Strictly speaking, sea lice are not a significant issue for sea angling per se because most of the species one goes for in sea angling are marine fish species. Sea lice are an issue for migrating salmonids. When juvenile salmon are migrating with a heavy sea lice burden it is a significant issue, and it can be an issue for adult salmon migrating back. However, in the specific context of sea angling, sea lice are not a major issue.

On the question of the degree of co-operation with BIM, we are all aware that an application is pending and I do not wish to comment on it. We have very good levels of co-operation with BIM and the chairman of IFI. I met the chief executive and chairman of BIM two weeks ago, and we will be doing so again in the next couple of weeks. There are two processes and there are agencies with different views and concerns and we are working through them in a very collegial manner. There has always been good co-operation between us. There is an ongoing process and I do not wish to comment on it.

The aquaculture component of Harvest 2020 should be subject to an environmental impact assessment, EIS. At the moment, there is a specific aquaculture application that is open and certainly IFI has made submissions on it. We hope, and I presume, that our concerns will be adequately taken on board. It will be the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine that runs the process. We are still waiting to get the output from it.