Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend section 23 of the Wildlife Act, 1976 to include the Sprat Fish, Sprattus sprattus, in the Fifth Schedule of the Act; to prohibit the targeted fishing of sprat except where caught as bycatch; to provide for a moratorium on commercial sprat fishing until sufficient scientific data is available regarding sprat habitats, population dynamics, and their ecological role, to include a Just Transition for inshore fishers; and to provide for related matters.

This Bill seeks to amend the Wildlife Act 1976 to provide legal protection for the sprat by including it in the Fifth Schedule to the Act. This would prohibit the targeted fishing of sprat and place a moratorium on commercial sprat fishing until sufficient scientific data is available regarding its population dynamics, habitat use and ecological function. The Bill also specifies that incidental bycatch of protected fish species is not prohibited and that it provides for the Minister, in consultation with Minister for the marine, to revoke the protected status in the future, contingent on the development of a species-specific management plan and allocation of a sustainable quota. In recognition of the potential economic impact on fishers currently reliant on these fisheries, the Bill also mandates the development of a just transition plan, which must be done and developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

This will be a bit of a biology lesson. I imagine most people have no real understanding, when you mention the word "sprat", of what sprat is. Sprat are a small fish, maybe 10 cm long. They only live for three, four or five years. They are a short-lived species. They tend to congregate in our inshore areas and the fishing for them is primarily in September. They are not hugely economically valuable. The entire sprat fishery in Ireland is worth less than €5 million per year, because most of the sprat that are caught are essentially crushed up and used in fish meal or pet food. Sprat are not used for human consumption. The value of sprat is not high from an economic perspective. However, from an ecological perspective, they are invaluable. Many marine species rely on sprat for food. Fish like cod, haddock and herring feed on sprat. Seabirds such as puffins, kittiwakes and terns feed on sprat. Whales and dolphins feed on sprat.

It is estimated that over 70% of the humpbacks that would come into Irish waters are reliant on sprat for food, so they are hugely important. If we do not have sprat in our waters, we do not have seabirds, whales, dolphins and various species of other fish. They are a really important part of the food chain.

Unfortunately, because sprat are not economically viable or important, we have not really had a fisheries management focus on them to date. There is no plan for them. There is no real monitoring of them. We do not have a total allowable catch or quota in respect of them. It is pretty much a free-for-all. What we find is that a lot of inshore fishers and, indeed, some of the larger boats do focus on these fisheries in September, but there is no regulation of that. Those fishermen are not doing anything illegal, but the State needs to step in and regulate these fisheries in order that we can both manage them sustainably and do not kill the golden goose. That is what we are talking about.

This Bill would is introduce the precautionary principle, which is a sort of fundamental principle in marine fisheries management. Under this principle, if we do not have the necessary data, we stop doing what we are doing and wait until we get it. Once we have the data, we can then manage things properly. In the absence of the data, we are not able to manage matters and are at risk of completely overfishing and collapsing the stock. The latter would be absolutely catastrophic for so many industries, the fishing industry included.

A total of 3,500 tonnes of sprat were caught in 2018. In the past few years, the figure was 15,000 tonnes. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, which is the EU entity that deals with fisheries, reckons that approximately 2,200 tonnes should be caught. We are way over that, and the sprat population is at real risk. The Government tried to bring in measures in 2018. There was a proposal to stop large pair trawlers from fishing within the six-mile zone. That was really welcome. Unfortunately, this move was overturned in 2020. What we have seen since then is a real focus by boats on exploiting as much as they can of this stock. At this stage, because we have had such a significant fishing of this species, we just need to stop it completely until we have the data in place. That is what this Bill will do. Hopefully, we will get support for it.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Is the Bill opposed?

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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No.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."