Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Connick, on his appointment. He is entering a Department that requires a bit of common sense and persistence. Above all, leadership is required. Leadership is required not in terms of leading the Department but in terms of leading the fishing community. The latter feels it has been devoid of a voice. It has common-sense, practical solutions to put forward and does its own conservation-related scientific research. It knows the long-term sustainability of fisheries depends on sustainable fishing practices. Fishermen are pragmatic and want their sons to enter the industry. They want to work with the Minister of State. I hope the Minister of State will work with them. I know he will based on my experience of working with him to date in Leinster House. I congratulate him and look forward to working with him.

I raise the issue of spurdog because I have been speaking to many fishermen along the coast in my constituency, Donegal North-East. This is a coastal issue. In 2008, 390 tonnes of spurdog were fished. There was a quota of 195 tonnes last year. All of a sudden, this was reduced to zero tonnes on the basis of so-called scientific research recommending a blanket ban.

Area VIa, with which the Minister of State will become familiar, comprises 23% of Irish waters. The removal of the quota does not take into account the local perspective or the fact that one could engage in sustainable fishing on a small scale with boats under 18 m. There are not many of them anymore because, as the Minister of State knows, there has been a decommissioning scheme for boat owners. Incidentally, the scheme did not result in a penny being given to the crews who worked on the boats. There are people who are still willing to work on a small scale and in a sustainable manner.

Area 39E3 is a small pocket just above north County Donegal which takes in the fishing area north of Fanad Head or Greencastle. Scottish and Northern Ireland boats are fishing in the area but local Donegal boats are not allowed to. The fishermen are fishing for a shellfish. Irish boats will not be allowed fish in the waters until 1 April. There is something amiss here. There is deep-felt anger and resentment, not towards other fishermen but towards the rules that make circumstances unfair. The unfairness is almost palpable every time one meets the fishermen in Donegal. In the last referendum on the Lisbon treaty the nation voted "Yes" but Donegal voted "No". The Minister should analyse the strong "No" vote from the fishing community.

The Marine Institute has stated there are 350,000 seals off the north-west coast of Scotland that come across the north-west territory. Each seal requires 10 kg of fish per day, which gives an overall weight of 35 tonnes. This equates to 1,000 fish boxes per day. We talk about conservation and sustainability but that is a factor that the Minister of State should consider. He should listen to the fishermen and determine how we can make progress on this matter.

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