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

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue because I know it is causing concern and frustration. I have had a lot of interaction, particularly on social media, on this issue. I can assure the Deputy that it is not going unnoticed in my Department or by the agencies with responsibility for enforcement of the rules.

Control of vessels within Ireland's exclusive fisheries zone is as a matter for the Irish control authorities who monitor fishing activity of all vessels operating in the area. The control authorities have ongoing information in relation to the vessels operating in the Irish exclusive fisheries zone, including their activities and characteristics. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, all operational issues of this nature concerning sea fisheries control are, as a matter of law, exclusively for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, and the Naval Service. As Minister, I am precluded from getting involved in operational matters, including in relation to law enforcement. Obviously, I ask what is going on and I ensure that the authority is applying the rules and regulations fairly and robustly. The SFPA has advised me that it is currently monitoring the activity of four large pelagic freezer trawlers within the Irish exclusive fisheries zone.

Vessels with the scope to catch large quantities of fish, with onboard grading facilities, create specific compliance risks, therefore justifying specific focus of available control resources. For each of these, I am advised that the SFPA has clarified through contact with the flag state the entitlement of the vessel, and has identified particular compliance risks pertaining to those vessels. Since their arrival in the Irish exclusive fisheries zone, the SFPA has been monitoring their movements through VMS, and declared catches through ERS. In general terms, it advises that the declared catches have been consistent with limited processing capability that might exist in heavy weather. Current weather conditions are heavy, to put it mildly.

The SFPA is reliant on the seagoing fishery patrol activity of the Naval Service to verify compliance of vessels not landing into Ireland. Boarding vessels of this size at sea creates specific challenges and to date, the operational decision of the Naval Service has been that the weather has been too severe to do that. Our record in regard to large super-trawlers has been strong in the past 12 months. We have brought a number of vessels into Killibegs for full inspection and so on. I do not propose to read the lengthy note I have on this issue, a copy of which I am sure the Deputy has received and will read later in detail. I would, however, like to reassure people on a couple of points.

First, Ireland has a large fisheries area to patrol. It is ten times our land mass in terms of surface. It is among the most fertile fishing grounds not alone in the European Union but in the world. It is a fishing ground shared among many international fleets. Irish boats land about 20% of the catch. It is my job to ensure that the enforcement agencies of the State, namely, the Naval Service and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, ensure that there are fair rules that apply to big and small boats, be they Irish owned or not. These agencies must, in particular, ensure that boats that enter that zone to fish, but do not land in Ireland because in terms of scale they have processing facilities on board, comply with the rules and that there is no grading, discarding and so on. It should not be forgotten that the discards ban introduced under the new Common Fisheries Policy, the concluding negotiations of which were chaired by Ireland, is in respect of the discard of fish in the pelagic sector. This has been in place for the whole of this year. We will be introducing an obligation to land into the white species from 1 January. The rules are stringent and we will enforce them. Current weather conditions are very rough, which means it is virtually impossible for the Naval Service to board these vessels. If the weather changes that approach may change.

I know there is concern in regard to this area. Ireland, too, has some very large pelagic trawlers. Some of the Irish trawlers probably have a greater capacity to catch in terms of the day catch than do most of the large trawler vessels about which we are speaking because they have to process as well as catch. There are some very large Irish vessels that fish in Irish waters and outside of Irish waters. I know there is a concern in regard to the scale and size of these vessels, which are almost immune to stormy conditions such as currently being experienced. I want to assure people that we are monitoring what they are doing and where they are and we want to enforce the rules strictly to ensure they are not catching beyond the quota they are allowed to catch within European waters.

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