Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for this positive news. It should be a positive message for the inshore fishermen, particularly those with boats of less than 10 metres. It is difficult to explain to them why there is zero quota in the north west when herring is being caught off the pier on Arranmore Island. Last weekend, I spoke to a fisherman whose son caught herring off the slipway in Glencolmcille with a rod and a line. He did not know what they were. Anecdotally, it seems there is such a strong stock that herring can be caught off the pier.

That is good news and I hope the Minister will ensure it happens. The last time there were quotas in the north west only 5% was made available to the under 10 m segment. We need to see significantly more than that. There has been a lot of discussion in the past about active farmers, but we should look at active fishermen as well.

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