Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I have spoken about the deep concern of those in the industry but there is a sense, with a dedicated Minister for fisheries and a dedicated Oireachtas committee, that there is a chance for a reset. I will be fair; Bord Iascaigh Mhara can only deal with the framework in which it operates. As Deputy Gallagher said, the quota and total available catch and science are all things that are out of its control and it can only operate within the parameters. I suggest there may be a need for dialogue and engagement between Bord Iascaigh Mhara and industry representatives to look at the data and analyse it in more detail. Feedback I get is around the loss of quota, landings and so on. I have dealt with some of that already so I do not really want to go in to it anymore. I will just suggest there is probably a need for more dialogue there to fill up the gaps.

I have three questions. I ask the witnesses to take them sequentially. The first is around the issue of the bottom mussel industry. It is a tragic story. The Rising Tide report was published a number of years ago and, at that stage, it was 20,000 tonnes per annum. It was up there as one of the best and most important species we had. The industry was worth €35 million in 2006 according to the BIM report and it was seen as a key sector but it has collapsed. It is down to something like 3,000 tonnes. I would like to get a sense of BIM's view on that and also around the issue of mussel seed. There was none in 2023 and 2024. What is the current state of play? What is BIM's plan around that? It is a really tragic story.

The second thing is around the number of active fishing vessels. Dr. Jackson may be able to come back in on that. Over this ten-year period, what has it reduced by? What is the level of vessels above 12 m now? How many active fishing vessels above 12 m, excluding aquaculture, are there?

In the past there was a labour force analysis of the Irish fishing fleet in previous reports comparing the income in the fishing and seafood industry with the overall average incomes across the board. What is the current state of play? How do the income levels of the typical worker in the sector compare with those in the rest of society and industry?