Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's example of the mackerel quota might have relevance if mackerel were swimming up to piers in countries that did not already have quotas. This brings us back to the situation in Iceland, where it is dealing with mackerel it already has, but the fact is that people can sit and look out their windows and see where the bluefin tuna are. The reality is that if we are to allow our fishing, costal and rural communities to develop, we must have a dynamic system that can accommodate it. I do not believe the Minister would open up the relative stability issue for the sake of a quota of 40 tonnes of tuna because that would be a way of kicking to touch so as to ensure nothing could happen. That is the real problem.

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