Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)

In the short amount of time available to me, I will not go over the historical issues, such as transferable quotas, discards and Hague preferences, which were covered by my colleagues. I wish the Minister well in the ongoing negotiations. He is the right person in the right job at the right time. It is important to put into context where our fishing industry is at by referring to the psyche or general feeling within the industry. It is battered and bruised and has been pulled and dragged all over the place. We have completely obliterated the potential of our inshore fisheries. That does not have positive ramifications for the industry itself.

I do not propose to focus on negative or historical aspects of the industry, however. I will not dwell on the fact that non-Irish fishing vessels have extracted approximately €500 billion worth of fish from Irish seas since we joined the EU. I do not think it would be productive to do so. It would not help the debate. We have to be cognisant of the fact that we have an international job to do. We have to look at things in the context of the Common Fisheries Policy negotiations. We have to consider the fact that the Faroese and Icelandic governments are allocating ridiculous mackerel quotas at the moment. That has the potential to wipe out this country's mackerel sector. Representatives of our mackerel sector have told me they are absolutely disgusted with what is going on. They know it is not even the right time of the year to be fishing mackerel. We need to pull in the pioneers, the ambassadors in the mackerel industry whom we have in this country, because they want to lead the campaign against this outlandish activity by the Faroese and Icelandic governments. For example, as we speak there is a re-calibrated oil tanker cargo ship processing fish off the Faroe Islands. This is the reality of what is happening. We need international clout. The Minister, from his experience in Europe, must use the EU as a mechanism to work together with our comrades in Canada and right across international shores to come up with mechanisms for preventing the type of mass destruction that is going on within international waters, be it by Russian factory ships or whatever. For example, the Greenland authorities are introducing their own quota system and catching salmon and we are introducing severe restrictions for drift-net fishermen and draft-net fishermen for fish that are being completely exploited in international waters.

We need one voice within the fishing sector. One of the self-criticisms within the fishing industry is that it did not have one voice. It is a challenge for the fishing industry. I call on those within the fishing sector to look at it as an industry with potential.

The Minister has been focused on the aquaculture sector. However, we need a break at the inshore. We need a break where there are fishermen in my constituency. Only yesterday, a fisherman from Erris telephoned me, not about going fishing because he knows he cannot do so but about going out in one of the BIM survey boats just to get out in the water. We must look at our psyche as a nation. We are a maritime nation, we have a coastal community, we are an island and we have to get people back in the waters. This was an example of a fisherman who had fished all his life - generations down through the years fished in Irish waters - and all he wants to do is to get out on the sea on a BIM survey boat. He cannot get out otherwise because of ridiculous rules that have been introduced down the years. Another example up in our waters is fishermen who have been fishing lesser spotted dogfish, known locally as sand dogs, which is a scavenger used as bait and for which they cannot get a quota.

There are so many challenges. I wish the Minister well. I encourage the industry to come collectively with one voice. It is important to lead the debate and lead the drive in an industry that has given away €500 billion worth of fish to non-Irish vessels. That is a fact of history and we must do something about that in terms of driving a more positive future for those within the marine sector.

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