Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I will certainly be looking at following that up. What I want to achieve here is an outcome that delivers the maximum return in terms of fish for next year. That is something I will pursue at European level. The mackerel issue is a real hit as regards the scientific advice on it. On the plus side, we will have a quota for horse mackerel again this year. That has been an important pelagic fishery for Killybegs and pelagic boats over recent years. We did not have a horse mackerel fishery last year or the year before, and that was a real loss. We will, thankfully, have one this year, and that will be important in mitigating that 22% reduction in the mackerel quota, although that reduction is a real hit. Overall, the sustainability impact assessment shows that the pelagic sector will see an increase of 4% by volume but a 3% reduction by value, which will result in a direct income reduction of €3.6 million. There is an improvement in the situation with horse mackerel and with boarfish, where we will also see a quota this year. That certainly does not fully mitigate the impact on income arising from the change to the mackerel quota.