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

I am the Sinn Féin spokesperson on fisheries and the marine, so I will focus my comments on that area. I raised a matter with the Taoiseach recently, namely the different approach taken by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, when it comes to super sized factory ships operating in Irish waters. There was a recent whistleblower report in the Mail on Sunday and the story was repeated again last Sunday. I ask that departmental officials would have a look at this. Seafood factories in the likes of Killybegs that generated a huge number of jobs and significant wealth over the years face a very different type of oversight by the SFPA in comparison with these huge factory ships. There was a suspicion that on MVK Afrika, a huge factory ship, discards were being facilitated which is illegal under the common fisheries policy but it did not feel like a very strong approach was taken there in comparison to how a factory here in Ireland would be treated. I ask that this be looked at.

The other point I raise today relates to the pelagic industry. As the Minister of State knows, we built up a strong pelagic industry here, particularly in mackerel. Right now, Norway, the Faroe Islands and the UK have come together to do a deal that rewards practices that are not recognising the science. We need to have a look at that. There is a need for us to stand together and demand that Norway and the Faroe Islands fish fairly, the same as everybody else. Mackerel is a migratory species and it needs to be respected across all waters.

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