Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Fishing Industry: Discussion

5:00 pm

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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I thank Dr. Steele for her presentation. I will continue the same theme raised by Senator Ó Clochartaigh. Any pelagic vessel that lands with over 5 tonnes can be inspected at any port in Ireland. The inspection system for factory vessels differs in that they report what they have caught and landed from whatever port they arrive in and the information is sent to the authority. I understand that to be the case but it may not be the situation. How many times are factory vessels inspected at sea when in Irish waters? How likely are inspections to take place? At the start of this year inspections of these vessels that operated off the Donegal coast was topical. The Department was categorical in stating that it would not conduct inspections and it would be left to the Naval Service to decide whether it was safe to inspect factory ships at sea. Should we have a system of asking the vessels to come into safe waters for inspection? Is it a feasible request?

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, 2014 document that has been distributed to members indicates there were 1,457 fishing vessel inspections. Is there a breakdown of how many of those vessels were Irish and how many were Spanish or other nationalities? Will the witnesses explain how the information is exchanged with other EU member states on the quota situation of, for example, Spanish vessels or French vessels fishing in Irish waters? Does the SFPA get accurate information on their quotas and how the individual vessels are affected with regard to quotas? Does that information become a factor in whether the vessels will actually be inspected when they land at ports? Any members who have fishing ports in their areas constantly hear the complaint about three or four Spanish vessels, for example, landing into Killybegs Port where the catch is loaded straight onto the back of a lorry and is taken away with no fishery officers present. When an Irish boat from Killybegs or Donegal comes into port, four fishery officers arrive at the boat to inspect it. I know this may be due to a requirement that pelagic vessels be inspected when they are landing over five tonnes but it is something fishermen find very hard to understand and to live with. Reference was made to penalty points being suspended at the moment. Is it the case that no penalty points are being issued? Perhaps the representatives from SFPA can confirm this will be the case, subject to the conclusion of the court cases and before the new regulation comes into effect. There was an issue regarding the Chinese market and mercury levels in crab meat and I do not know if it has been resolved yet. Will the witnesses please update the committee in this regard? My last question relates to oyster dredging in Lough Swilly. Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, has the role of issuing fishing licences to those vessels and the SFPA has an enforcement role and carries out the inspections. Is this is the case? There is a provision that the vessel licenceholder has to be on board the vessel at all times it is fishing. Is that something the SFPA factors in for its inspections?