Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The annual fishing opportunities for the Community's fishing fleets are traditionally agreed at the December Fisheries Council. This year the arrangements for 2012 are due to be negotiated at the Council scheduled to take place on 15 and 16 December. The process of preparing for the Council is well under way, with the publication of the European Commission's policy statement last May and its detailed proposals in September for fishing levels of key stocks of interest to Ireland. The details of the proposals are based on formal advice received from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, ICES, and also take account of the views of the EU Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, STECF.

In May the European Commission issued a policy statement which outlined its intention to simplify the process for determining fishing levels by reducing the number of guideline rules from 11 to just three as follows: category 1 - where there is an agreed management plan in existence, follow it; category 2 - where there is no plan, apply the maximum sustainable yield, MSY, approach; and category 3 - if there is no population estimate, reduce the TAC by 25%, which is referred to as the precautionary approach. This approach applied a 25% cut in the TAC to any stock for which ICES did not present a forecast. Unsurprisingly, this approach has not received much support from member states. In response, the Commission, in its proposal for fishing opportunities, released in late September, moderated its position on category 3 as follows: 3.1, Data Poor 1, where ICES advises no increase or a reduction in catches on the basis of some analyses, apply 15% cut to the TAC; and 3.2, Data Poor 2, where ICES advises no increase or a reduction in catches on the basis of lack of data, apply a 25% cut to the TAC.

The October Fisheries Council in Luxembourg considered TAC and quota proposals for the Baltic Sea. In that context and in response to concerns other colleagues and I had expressed about the overall policy being pursued, Commissioner Damanaki gave a commitment to rethink her previously stated policy of applying automatic reductions of 15% or 25% to a swathe of stocks in the absence of full scientific advice. The European Commission now appears receptive to examining the scientific advice on a case by case basis which I have advocated for some time. The Commissioner, however, has stated she intends to implement, as a matter of principle, a level of cut to all stocks without full scientific advice, regardless of the indications in respect of available data and advice.

Turning to the national stage, the programme for Government gives a commitment that a sea fisheries sustainability impact assessment, based on consultation with all major stakeholders, will be brought before the Dáil annually before EU fisheries negotiations commence. This is an innovative step and a signal from the Government of the importance it places on the economic viability of the seafood industry and the well-being of the wider marine ecosystem around the shoreline. To facilitate and inform these deliberations, I initiated a consultation process, whereby stakeholders were asked to comment on the European Commission's proposals for fishing opportunities in 2012. On 10 October an online web portal, www.fishingnet.ie, was activated to enable electronic submissions to be forwarded for consideration and this facility remained open until 28 October. In addition, on 18 October I chaired a meeting of stakeholders to further assist and inform consideration of the proposals and the submission of comments.

An analysis of the various contributions made to the consultation process shows a general welcome for the early publication of the European Commission's proposals and an acknowledgement that the new national consultative process was a positive addition to the debate surrounding fishing opportunities and the interactions of fisheries policy with the wider environment. The balance of the contributions indicates a need for greater adherence to the scientific advice available to enable prudent and appropriate management decisions to be made. This is necessary to provide for sustainable fish stocks and support the viability of the fishing industry, while also protecting the broader marine ecosystem.

There were, however, criticisms expressed, which I share, regarding the arbitrary cuts proposed by the European Commission for fishing opportunities in 2012 and the narrow view taken on the scientific advice, or its absence in certain cases. There was concern that the cuts in quotas, particularly where the available science was showing a healthy or increasing biomass for some stocks, would lead to further unnecessary discards.

With regard to the conclusions of the sea fisheries sustainability impact assessment, it is important to note the expert contributions of the Marine Institute and Bord lascaigh Mhara, BIM, which formed an integral part of the findings. It is also important to note that the European Commission's proposal being considered is the only proposal for certain fishing opportunities in 2012 not subject to third party agreements. This includes mainly whitefish stocks and does not cover some pelagic stocks, such as mackerel, which is Ireland's most important stock in economic terms, horse mackerel, or albacore tuna.

What comes across loud and clear is that managing fisheries is a complex undertaking, more so in the context of mixed fisheries, which is the nature of the fisheries in the waters around Ireland, particularly in the whitefish sector. It is also clear that the Irish fishing fleets depend on healthy and sustainable stocks for their medium and long-term viability and that many of the stocks on which they depend are not in a healthy biological state, and are in need of urgent remedial action and protection, when and where appropriate.

I do not intend to go into a stock by stock discussion, although if Members have questions on specific recommendations, I will try to answer them. Members should examine the data that accompanies the impact assessment that has been produced by the Marine Institute, in particular the stock book, which I launched this morning and which goes through the state of Irish stocks, stock by stock. It is an excellent piece of work and I do not believe it is matched by any other country in the EU in terms of its level of detail.

I have consistently stated that wherever the scientific advice indicates a need for a cut in TAC levels, I will accept this measure. The impact assessment itself agrees with the need to cut the quotas for some of the stocks in 2012, although the level of these cuts is queried in some cases, while in others there is clear scientific data to suggest a cut is unwarranted. In other cases, the available evidence is that an increase in the TAC can be more than justified. Indeed, for one stock, the impact assessment goes against the norm in its assertion that the proposed increase by the Commission in TAC for Celtic Sea herring is actually too high and a lower TAC increase would be more appropriate for the longer-term stability of the stock. This has been agreed by the industry, which is a very responsible approach.

The major bone of contention is the Commission's insistence on only using some of the scientific data that is available and how it interprets this. I appreciate that the Commissioner has indicated a willingness to move from the Commission's original position and take account of all available advice which generates estimates of future catches and historical trends of landings and effort. However, it is unclear how this will impact on individual stocks. Indeed, in some cases this additional advice indicates healthy biomass levels, which we want to insist the Commission takes into account when making final recommendations.

From a broader perspective, as I have previously stated, Ireland is committed to having total allowable catches set at levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield, MSY, by 2015, when and where possible. The philosophy behind this approach is to obtain the maximum long-term catch, while simultaneously ensuring the stock size is kept large enough to maintain productivity. However, I stress that the transition from the current management framework to a framework based on MSY will need to be on a phased basis. Where we have the necessary scientific advice from ICES, I will be supportive of establishing TACs for 2012 ensure that we are delivering MSY for these stocks by 2015. In this way, the transition to MSY will take account of the socioeconomic impacts through reduced catches in the short term. The benefit of an MSY approach is that, in the longer term, we will deliver more stable and sustainable fisheries for our industry.

However, there are considerable implementing challenges with MSY which will require further consideration and a rational and pragmatic approach. The issue of delivering MSY for stocks which are "data poor" is a real issue. For example, the sole and plaice in fisheries off the west coast are so small that it would not be economically reasonable to do a comprehensive scientific sampling programme, as is done for the large commercial stocks such as cod. There are also challenges in regard to delivering MSY in mixed fisheries that require careful consideration. These issues will be considered in the context of the reform of the CFP discussions over the coming year. However, for 2012 it will be important to make decisions on TACs based on best available data.

As I said, managing fishing out-take in a mixed fisheries scenario is a complex matter. The real concern is that decisions taken for a reduction in the TAC for a single stock may result in increased levels of discards for that stock where it is a by-catch in other fisheries. The ICES advice has clearly highlighted the importance of introducing additional technical measures for many of the mixed whitefish stocks around our coast so that juvenile fish, in particular, are allowed to escape. We are making good progress in regard to some of the fisheries on that count.

Ireland has been to the fore in the drive to reduce and eliminate discards, as evidenced most recently when I launched the Irish "discards atlas", a detailed description of discards by the Irish fleet on a stock by stock and area by area basis. The atlas also outlines a range of potential measures to help reduce discards and to make fishing more targeted in terms of the stocks they are targeting. The atlas was compiled to inform an EU-wide debate on discards, to which it will make a significant contribution in the context of the CAP. I thank the Marine Institute for the phenomenal level of detail it put into that report.

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