Mr. Michael Foley:

The Dunmore box was established in 2012 under the policy of the then Minister, Simon Coveney, which largely excluded the larger pelagic vessels from fishing for herring and sprat within that area. As a result, the sprat fishery is now operated exclusively by inshore fleet. Surveys show healthy sprat stocks in the Dunmore box. Surveys did not include bays and estuaries in areas of the highest sprat concentrate. The inshore fleet is a small-scale, weather-dependent fleet. Poor weather conditions restrict us from accessing bays and limit fishing pressure. Inshore boats therefore have limited impact on overall stocks.