John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

It was agreed in 2004 that the EU would be the co-ordinating organisation. With regard to our own efforts, the Irish Naval Service is very involved and applies no distinction between Irish and non-Irish fishing vessels. All foreign vessels operating with the Irish fisheries patrol area are subject to checks by Irish control authorities at sea or in Irish ports. At sea, these checks include the inspection of fishing gear, and vessels boarded at sea also have their catches inspected for compliance with EU fishery legislation on the minimum size of fish. The proper recording of catches is also checked. At the land base, regular checks are also carried out by inspectors on all vessels landing into Irish ports. The Spanish ships within Irish waters would be under the same inspection regime as Irish boats.

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