Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

Representatives of the our Marine Institute told the joint committee they do not believe the landing reports. Without referring to individual cases, the system is crooked and utterly corrupt. I seek an honest answer from the Minister of State. Boats from various European countries, including France, Spain and Belgium, can openly fish in Irish waters. How can the Naval Service police the quota system when it does not know the quotas of individual boats? That is the fundamental flaw in the system. Unless the Naval Service has same day information regarding the quota a country has issued to a boat for each species, we have open fishing. Given the number of trawlers fishing in our waters and the technology available on them, our seas will be wiped clean. We have some of the best fishing grounds in the world but we are losing them because the Minister of State is turning a blind eye to that fundamental flaw. Is it acceptable that Irish naval vessels should not know what quotas are available to foreign vessels?

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