John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

The Atlantic Dawn fishing vessel has been de-registered from Ireland's sea fishing boat register and accordingly does not have an entitlement to fish Ireland's fishing quotas. The fishing capacity of the vessel, in terms of tonnage and kilowatts, remains in the ownership of the Atlantic Dawn company which, subject to normal sea fishing boat licensing and registration rules, may be reintroduced onto the sea fishing boat register within two years of its removal from the fleet register. Any of the capacity not reintroduced within this timeframe is lost to the vessel owner.

The management arrangements in place for the allocation of quota to individual vessels have been developed over time in consultation with industry representatives. Vessel size has traditionally been an important factor in determining the amount of quota allocated to individual vessels. Proposals from industry representatives for the distribution of quota continue to be framed in the context of specified vessel size categories. The Atlantic Dawn was included in a group of the eight largest vessels and received the same quota allocations as the other vessels in its size category.

Any vessel entering the RSW segment of the Irish fleet, having purchased sufficient capacity would in the normal course enjoy the same quota allocations as other similarly sized vessels in that segment. It is important to emphasise that quotas are a national asset and are not owned by individuals. The normal arrangements for allocation of pelagic quotas for vessels in the RSW pelagic segment will be applied. These arrangements vary from stock to stock. I intend to ensure that the quotas available to Ireland are fully utilised.

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