Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I believe the Taoiseach will agree that the River Liffey looks exceptional today. It is buzzing with boats and there is an extraordinary protest outside. I want to focus, however, on coastal small fisheries and the environment. The Taoiseach will know that, on 12 June, the mackerel quota for this type of hook and line fishing by the fishers of our small coastal communities was reached and this type of fishing was stopped. This quota is approximately 0.05% of the entire national quota. I will put this in the perspective of the total quota for the entire country for hook and line mackerel fishing. The market for mackerel caught in this way, which is the most environmentally friendly way of fishing mackerel, has recently increased. It is sustainable ecofishing involving no catching of dolphins, whales, turtles or any of the other poor creatures that get caught in the nets of the big factory ships. One of these big factory ships could use up the entire annual quota available to the hook and line fishers of the entire country in one day. This industry is of immense benefit to our coastal communities, many of which have shrunk and continue to shrink. The Taoiseach is going to have to intervene to ensure that benefit is not restricted by this small national quota and that these fishing communities are allowed to thrive. They have lost the right to fish wild salmon and spurdog and there has been a depletion in crab and lobster. They need these hook and line fisheries which, I reiterate, are eco-friendly and better for the other species in the sea. Communities rely on this entirely and I would like the Taoiseach to comment on the matter.

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