Mr. Eamon Dixon:

I hear the Deputy's point that it will get worse. It cannot get much worse, to be honest. I am over 40 years fishing and for the first time ever, in November last year, we were told by the processor we sell to that it could not take crab any longer. Most boats sell to dedicated processors in the different regions where we fish, the north west and south west. We cannot just jump across and ask another fellow to take my fish. Many will have the same boats selling to them all the time. There was nowhere to go. We were actually tied up last November because we could no longer sell the product. The live shellfish market was very poor at the time. There was a little increase for lobster at Christmas but that only lasted a week or two, as the buyers will confirm, and then it was gone again straight away. Our hands are tied.

Another important point is that we do not want to give this up. It is our way of life. We have been at it since we were kids and we want to stay at. We want to keep our families in those areas, it is critically important to us, but we need a chance to be able to do that. We need help and we have to get it. Unless we can get backing from across the political divide, the inshore fishing industry will crumble. It will be a sad day when that industry is gone from this country. That is a guarantee.