Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Chair for allowing me to raise the issue of the need for the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to seek at the forthcoming European fisheries meeting a solution to the unacceptable situation whereby dead fish that exceed the quota for the species are dumped at sea.

Just more than ten years ago the fishermen of Greencastle, among others, were hopeful the Government would listen and introduce a white fish renewal scheme. At the time, the Fianna Fáil spokesman on the marine was the former Deputy Michael Smith. When we entered Government we introduced such a scheme, the point of which was to encourage people to invest in new boats. It was an important step at the time because the age profile of the fleet was old and there were safety implications for those fishermen who had to go further and further out to sea, risking their own lives and those of their crews. New boats came into the scheme and it was a success.

Almost immediately, however, the quotas were reduced while the new boats still had to be paid for. The catch capacity was constrained, which had an economic impact on fishermen and has caused difficulties since. Various Ministers and Ministers of State have attended the annual meetings on this subject in the run-up to Christmas each year.

There was also a reduction in fish numbers, with fishermen often catching fish that were too small. People realise now they were catching the future of the industry. As the situation evolved, the annual meetings in Brussels became more challenging to the ability of fishermen to earn a living, with smaller and smaller quotas allowed. There is always a discrepancy between the fishermen and the scientific evidence. The scientists said there is no cod but fishermen are catching cod above their quota and most throw the dead fish into the sea. Fishermen are legally bound not to bring exceeded quota ashore, a crazy situation.

A decommissioning scheme to help fishermen to leave the industry is now in place and many will leave. When the white fish fleet renewal scheme was first announced, there were 28 boats more than 15 metres in length in Greencastle but now there are only nine. These fishermen regret that their families will not follow them into the profession. Hopefully reductions in the size of the fleet will result in a viable, modern fleet for the existing quota.

There is a crazy situation, however, that we must stop. Whether one supports the fishermen or supports conservation, it does not make sense to throw dead fish overboard to avoid prosecution for overfishing. It is wrong that fish are dumped because a quota was reached and the fish did not keep away from the nets.

A number of solutions exist, such as rolling quotas or a fish mountain similar to the old beef mountain. What can we do with the fish? They are dead and cannot be conserved and they should be of some value. We should also minimise opportunities for such stray fish being caught, or put in place a mechanism to have them recorded without penalty but also without financial reward for those who are deemed to have overfished.

If we are to invest €36 million in the harbour in Greencastle, we want a future for fishing. I understand the decommissioning package and welcome the renewal package and the total review of the common fisheries policy, because we gave away our fishing rights. A wrong that cannot continue is the waste of good food when many people still go hungry. It makes no sense and I ask for this to be central to discussions at the marine and conservation meetings in the run-up to Christmas. Food should not go to waste at a time when food production is increasing in price. There must be an answer, with perhaps the fish being sold and the excess being donated to charity. If the public realised that fish is being caught and dumped at sea, it would cause a scandal.