Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The place to start is to inform people about what is being asked of them because there is major confusion. We have been trying to do so. I have been to Castletownbere and we spent quite a bit of time with the fishing industry specifically on this issue. I have also been to Kilmore Quay, where I took questions for two and a half hours from fishermen on this issue. It is the responsibility of Dr. Noel Cawley's group to have these town hall meetings and very practical discussions about what is being asked and what is not being asked. No one is asking a fisherman to bring in starfish and land it on the quayside. They can discard them. In terms of quota species, we will introduce stocks to the quota over a period of time, as we learn to be more targeted and accommodate through the management tools we have a negotiated in the Common Fisheries Policy a way in which we catch what we land as opposed to catching a lot of fish which we do not have the capacity to land because we do not have the quota for them. We have had some success in this, particularly with regard to juvenile fish.

If we consider the change in mesh size and net design in the Celtic Sea, for example, we have reduced dramatically the number of juvenile fish being caught in that fishery. We can learn from that. Likewise, there has been much experimentation in the Irish Sea and other prawn fisheries with the aim of avoiding catching cod. We need to encourage fishermen to do that.

We have a package that is worth €241 million with the new European Marine and Fisheries Fund, EMFF. That is more than twice any other package that has ever been negotiated for the Irish fishing industry. We have that so we can facilitate, support and finance the change programme required over the next few years. I appeal to fishermen not to see this as a threat but rather as an opportunity that requires them to look differently at their management systems and how they fish. Sometimes when people are challenged and a bit confused about what is being asked of them, the response is one of resistance because they think there is an ulterior motive. There is no such motive in this case as this is about trying to create healthier, bigger stocks of fish at sea in order that we can catch more fish. It is also about ensuring we are using the science, innovation and technology we have available to be more targeted in our fishing.

It is complicated when we speak about a mixed fishery, with different quotas applying to different stocks all being caught in the same net. That is the particular difficulty we will have to face. In the Celtic Sea, which is arguably the most complex fishery around the Irish coast, we are starting with the easiest of the three in the cod, haddock and whiting fishery, namely, whiting, and we will see how that works. We will co-operate with fisherman to ensure it works and we will extend the process to other species year on year. Nothing is being rushed and this will happen in a phased way between now and 2019. There is much money to help us get there with respect to changed management systems and gear that is required but it would be disastrous for the fishing industry to think we can resist this because it is new and we do not like it. To be fair, the people involved will not take that route. Let us work together on this so that in five or six years we will have healthier stocks and more profitable fishing, which ultimately is what this is about.

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