Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. He has always been consistent in his interest in this matter.

As the Deputy is aware, Ireland has never made any claims to Rockall nor has Ireland ever recognised UK sovereignty claims over Rockall. Accordingly, Ireland has not recognised a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea around it. This remains the position of the Government, and that is well understood in this House.

The Government continues to be in regular contact with the relevant Scottish and UK authorities regarding Rockall. Through this engagement, the Government is seeking to address the issues involved, reflecting the long-standing fisheries patterns in the area with which the Deputy is very familiar. I know from constituents of his that this matter is of considerable concern to them, and the Deputy has raised it on a number of occasions.

Irish vessels have traditionally fished for haddock, which is subject to a quota limit, and squid, which is not subject to a quota limit, in the waters around Rockall. Haddock may be caught both within and outside 12 nautical miles of Rockall, but squid is caught within six nautical miles of Rockall. Other stocks caught in the waters around Rockall, both within the 12-mile area and outside, are monkfish and megrim. That is something the Deputy is very well versed in.

In 2021, the seafood sector task force was established to examine the impacts of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on our fishing sector and coastal communities and to make recommendations on the mitigation strategy. The task force examined the impact of the loss of access to the waters around Rockall and estimated that Ireland's total squid fishery in 2019 was valued at around €6.6 million. The majority of squid was taken from the waters surrounding Rockall, and this amounted to 1,071 tonnes, valued in excess of €5 million, in 2019 and 371 tonnes, valued at €1.6 million, in 2020.

Squid landings by Irish vessels from the Rockall area have varied considerably from year to year, ranging from under 300 tonnes in 2016 to more than 1,000 tonnes in 2017 and 2019.

The sporadic nature of the fishery is consistent with squid's short lifespan and erratic recruitment dynamics. Given this variation, it is difficult to put a realistic estimate-----

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