Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Let us deal with the 12-mile issue first. The exclusive economic zone of our country comprises 200 miles, not 12 miles. There are immense resources of fisheries outside the 12-mile limit and we have given up 80% of those.

In regard to the size of the ships, Australia has banned vessels of more than 120 m in length. I do not think there is any vessel of that size in the Irish fleet, although there was the infamous Atlantic Dawn a number of years ago. We need to be serious about sustainability. If we are telling our mid-sized fleet that fishes under producer organisations around our coast about sustainability and the need to protect the six-mile limit, how can we allow super trawlers of more than 120 m - some of the largest in the world - to hoover all species of fish out of the sea, with considerable quantities of discards? We know this is an appalling practice that undermines everything else we do. Will the Minister start the battle and the process of change among his European colleagues?

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