Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

It is clear at this stage that the Common Fisheries Policy, as it is currently being implemented, is not fit for purpose. Something that was established 40 years ago to provide for a co-ordinated management of fish stocks has failed. It has failed to protect fish stocks, to protect our marine and to protect Irish fishing industry.

Our Irish fishing industry is one that is core to who we are as an island country. It is core to our coastal communities and to our identity. Rather than being part of a process in Europe that protects that, what we have seen happen is the sustainability of the fishery itself being completely eroded by the systems that have been put in place. Fishermen have been squeezed further and further. Their quotas are being squeezed and these fishermen are being squeezed out of their boats, out of their jobs and probably out of a history of generations of working in that area.

Unfortunately, the Common Fisheries Policy as it is currently being managed is also putting our fish stocks at huge risk. This policy is not working for any element of the stakeholders it was essentially set up to protect. This is not something that has happened recently. There has been updated information from ICES regarding stocks of certain species but this is not something that has happened recently. Twenty years ago, when I was fishing out of Howth, I would have gone down with the Marine Institute to fish from there. We used to go up to particular boats and ask could we go out with them for the week to catch some samples. I was working on a cod project at the time and I would talk to fisherman who would ask what I was trying to sample. When I would say cod - cod and haddock - they would laugh in my face and say I was not going to get any cod out there. That was probably 20 years ago and we can see now that has continued to play out. When we are looking at the state of our whitefish stocks at present, we have a zero catch TAC for cod in the north west, the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea, and for haddock, whiting and pollock in the Celtic Sea. That in itself is a clear illustration that the system we are currently operating on is not working. We are seeing the collapse of stocks.

There are two particular stocks that have been a large part of the discussion today, namely, mackerel stocks and the blue whiting stocks. It is important when we talk about these stocks' collapse to state that this is not just a problem for Ireland. The collapse of this stock is catastrophic. Again, this is because it has not been managed properly. The ICES advice regarding the mackerel stocks is that the total allowable catch must be no more than 174,000 tonnes. That is a 77% reduction compared with the estimated catch in 2025. That advice is driven by the maximum sustainable yield. Essentially, what that says is there will be a 50% probability that the spawning stock biomass can recover to the absolute minimum biological limit by 2027. That is only a 50% chance. If we manage to keep to that 77% reduction, there is still only a 50% chance that the stock will be recoverable. That is just incredible.

Decades of overfishing have caused this crisis. Since 2010, the collective quota set by the coastal states, which include UK, the EU, Norway and others, have resulted in actual catches that have exceeded the scientific advice by an average of 39% every year. Fish stocks do not work this way. If you overfish them, there is not enough mature fish to reproduce to keep that stock going. That is the fundamental basis of it. If we continue to allow and facilitate overfishing, we are wiping that species out.

We are looking at a 41% reduction from the previous year's advice. Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, the UK and the European Union have consistently exceeded the advised catches. We have discussed in the committee how Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland are particularly problematic in that they are allowed and facilitated to overfish a species to which they really should have no right. As a country, we need to get this message across to Europe. Even though the framework as it is set up is not working properly, I believe there are tools within the system that Ireland can use. I do not know why we have not been able to negotiate more strongly on the quotas in recent years and why Ireland has not been getting a fair share. There are two important principles here. One is that the overall quotas stay within the species' biological limits and that they are evidence- and science-based. That is the primary thing. If we do not get that right, there will be no fish for anybody. Within the quota, that is, the large cake that is determined to be there, Ireland needs to get its fair share. This is the fundamental thing we need to be fighting for. If it is the case, we need to make sure that we have alliances going in Europe that will fight and stand by us on that. That is really important. I do not know why we have always got the short end of the stick, I just do not understand it as I am not in the room. Previous Ministers might have a better understanding but it is time for that to stop and it is time for us to get our fair share.

Even within the system, I believe there are tools that we can use to ensure a more sustainable fishery and a better way of managing the fishery, particularly for our inshore fishers. They have been ignored for far too long. They are being squeezed into smaller and smaller geographical areas and are being confined to fewer and fewer species. That in itself is putting huge pressure on the species that are there. They need to be a core focus of the Minister of State's work. We need to start looking at Article 7 of the Common Fisheries Policy and actually start implementing it. This allows for fishing opportunities and for states to use transparent and objective criteria with a focus on social, environmental and economic criteria. This means that within the Common Fisheries Policy, the Minister of State can enable a much clearer focus on inshore fisheries and the low-impact fishers, which is what we really want to have. More resources can be directed to them under this provision. I do not understand why we have not used it. I ask the Minister of State to look at this seriously.

Previously, there was an issue with hake off the south west of Ireland, which is a nursery ground for this fish. In 2003 Ireland established, under the conditions of the EU, a biologically sensitive area. This enables restrictions on certain types of fishing within an area, based on its importance as a nursery area. Perhaps the Minister of State can look at this to deal with the blue whiting issue because the nursery area for that is currently in trouble. The provision could be used for that. The biologically sensitive areas seem to be a precursor to the marine protected areas. I strongly urge the Minister of State to get the marine protected area legislation in place. If that is done properly, not only will it protect our stocks, it will also protect our inshore fishers. If it is done well, it will increase fishing potential for people, so it needs to be done urgently. I plead for the Minister of State to have it as stand-alone legislation and that it is not just tacked on to something else. That would not give it the focus it requires. Please, get that done. We have been too long waiting and in the meantime, we are seeing stocks collapse and we are seeing our fishing industry collapse as well.

In his speech earlier, the Minister of State mentioned sprat. He referred to the fact that the banning of vessels over 18 m was an inshore-fishery measure. It is reckless of the Minister of State not to put in a quota for boats of under 18 m. He can still ensure a proper fishery for the boats under 18 m. They can still be prioritised but there needs to be a quota. The Marine Institute was very clear on this in the committee. Its representatives said that in the absence of any other data or information, the quota set by ICES, which was 2,240 tonnes, was the one that should be used. The precautionary principle needs to be used here. If the Minister of State does not get this right there may not be a fishery for some of those inshore boats and it is short-sighted not to apply a quota.

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