Seanad debates

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

7:00 pm

Photo of Brian Ó DomhnaillBrian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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There has been much discussion in recent months regarding the distribution of herring quota, which has been subject to review by the Department. Both the north-west herring fishery and the Celtic Sea herring fishery provide much needed employment to fishermen and factory workers, particularly in areas like Killybegs, Kincasslagh and west Donegal. The difficulty is that the criteria used by the Department to determine eligibility seem to be extremely selective. The new policy is ultimately intended to ring-fence the fishery and divide the distribution of quota north and south of the country. The proposals would effectively preclude all but two of the local pelagic vessels from the Celtic Sea fishery, fishing out of Killybegs, to avail of any level of quota. They also discriminate very negatively against the smaller vessels - less than 10 m in length - which have been fishing for herring as far back as the 1920s in Donegal and along the west coast.

The fishing opportunity in Killybegs and Kincasslagh will inevitably suffer as a consequence of these provisions. There are processing factories in both those location which provide employment to large numbers of local people. If I understand it correctly, the new policy means that vessels which participated in a fishery in 2009 or 2010 or in three of the five years between 2006 and 2010 will be allowed to enter into the new fishery in future. A large number of the boats from the west and north-west coasts participated in a fishery in 2011, bringing much needed employment to their communities. However, some of these fishermen were only returning to the Celtic Sea fishery after a number of years. These fishermen are now to be excluded completely from fishing under the new policy. The knock-on effect will be the haemorrhaging of jobs in ports such as Killybegs, which is one of the harbours under the control of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine. It will also have a knock-on effect on the shipbuilding, repair and fuel industries and other local enterprises that work out of Killybegs.

My initial reaction to this is one of shock because there has been little or no consultation within the industry, particularly in the northern end of the country, on this new policy. The Department and the Minister appear to have undergone a process of scrutiny and if the policies as I have read out and the criteria as I have outlined are to be implemented, then it is a blatant attack on the fisheries of the north-west coast. It is a blatant attack on the larger vessels, the pelagic fleet and the smaller vessels - that is, boats under 10 m - many of which are operating from the offshore islands. It comes in the aftermath of new bore fishing regulations, which I will not go into now. The distribution of quota, for example, under the bore regulations, resulted in one vessel in Killybegs receiving 15% of the catch of the previous year while a vessel in Cork received 857% of the catch of the previous year. Questions must be raised here about fairness and transparency in the allocation of quota.

I hope the response tonight will be transparent and will show that decisions have not been taken without adequate consultation. The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, of which I am a member, had requested that before any decision was taken by the Minister he and his officials would appear before the committee. That did not happen. Last week our Chairman invited Department officials to come before the committee either this week or next but the response was that they did not have time and the committee would have to wait until the autumn. That sort of response is simply not good enough, which is why I am raising the matter tonight. I hope some clarity can be brought to the issue. While I appreciate that Deputy Perry does not have ministerial responsibility for this matter, as a former spokesperson in this area, I know he will understand what I am talking about. I hope the Department has provided him with a reasonable response.

Photo of John PerryJohn Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising a very important issue. I have visited Killybegs on many occasions, and I know of the huge investment made there and the opportunities provided by the coastal waters.

There are three herring stocks of importance to the Irish fleet: the Celtic Sea herring stock, the stock found off the north west of Ireland, and the west of Scotland stock. Ireland has an 86% share of the Celtic Sea stock, 91% of the north west stock and 15% of the west of Scotland stock. Accordingly, these stocks are very important for the Irish fleet and support the fishing industry in local areas. Each year many seasonal jobs are created in the local fish processing companies. Indeed, when I was spokesperson on this issue under the last administration, the lack of support for processing was obvious. This problem has not arisen just in the last 12 months, but has been ongoing for ten years or more. Change cannot happen overnight.

In the Celtic Sea herring fishery, there was a significant collapse of stock in the 1990s. The Celtic Sea herring management advisory committee, comprising representatives of the industry and processors, with the support of the Marine Institute, developed a rebuilding plan for the stock in 2008, which has since been implemented. This plan has led to a reversal of the downward trend in the stock, and it is now being fished sustainably. The Celtic Sea herring management advisory committee has now prepared a management plan which has been submitted for evaluation to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES, to support the sustainable management of this stock into the future, which is in everyone's interest. However, the success of the rebuilding plan resulted in greater pressure on the fishery from vessels that had not regularly participated in the fishery in recent years. In general, between 2006 and 2010 the number of vessels in the fishery was relatively constant. However, in 2011 the numbers doubled, which reduced the allocation for each vessel and posed a challenge to the sustainability of the fishery. Therefore, the commencement of the herring review in 2011 came at a pivotal time for the stock. In order to go forward, one must look back, and the Senator will agree that the doubling of the number of vessels participating was problematic.

The north west of Ireland herring stock faces a similar challenge. The stock has had significant cuts in the total allowable catch, TAC, in recent years, and the ICES is recommending a zero TAC unless a rebuilding plan is put in place. The Irish industry, with the support of the Marine Institute, has now introduced a rebuilding plan which is being considered by the EU pelagic regional advisory council. It is intended that this plan will be submitted to the European Commission and evaluated by the scientific, technical and economic committee. The plan may also be brought before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It is hoped that the adoption and implementation of this plan will provide a roadmap for recovery of the stock. The west of Scotland herring stock is subject to a separate EU management plan and is being fished sustainably.

In 2011, the Minister asked the fishing industry and other interested parties to make proposals on the future management arrangements for all Irish herring fisheries, namely the Celtic Sea stock, the stocks off the north west coast and the Atlanto-Scandian stock. The objective of the review was to deliver a policy which would ensure economically and biologically sustainable fisheries. The Minister received more than 20 proposals and comments relating to herring stock management. It was clear from these documents that there was no agreement within the industry as to how future herring fishing opportunities should be managed. The Minister then asked the Department to examine the proposals received and prepare a number of options which, as far as practically possible, took the views of stakeholders into account while delivering proper and effective management.

On 22 December 2011, the Minister published a draft policy document on the matter which he believed met the objectives to the greatest extent possible. He consulted and met industry representatives regarding the draft policy and listened carefully to the views expressed. Having considered all views and bearing in mind the sustainability of the fisheries, he came to a decision which he believes provides for the proper and effective management and conservation and rational exploitation of herring stocks. The policy is based on giving access to each of the fisheries to those with a recent track record in that particular fishery. The track record provision allows access to vessels that landed a minimum of five tonnes of herring in 2009 or 2010 or in three of the five years during the period 2006 to 2010. In addition, there are some limited specified circumstances in which an earlier track record may be taken into account. The only exception to the track record provision relates to small vessels in the Dunmore area of the Celtic Sea fishery, where a small-scale local fishery is permitted in line with the rebuilding and management plan for the fishery. A modest restricted quota for smaller vessels without a track record in the Celtic Sea and Area VIa south is also permitted.

The decision was based on a clear, detailed and objective assessment of the fisheries in recent years. This policy is intended to ensure the long-term sustainability of the herring fisheries by limiting participation in the main fisheries to those vessels that have participated in the fishery in the five years prior to the commencement of the review, even at a low level. The Minister totally rejects the claim that the policy was in any way influenced by the geographical location of operators. The qualifying criteria for ring-fencing are independent of location and based on transparent, objective participation data. If an operator did not qualify, it was simply because that operator did not participate significantly in the fishery during the five years from 2006 to 2010.

Photo of Brian Ó DomhnaillBrian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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I have one final observation to make. I thank the Minister of State for providing the response, but, to be honest, I do not buy it. I referred to boarfish. Some 95% of all boarfish were caught in Killybegs. Track record was not taken into consideration in the distribution of quota for boarfish. Boats which had not participated previously were given a quota greatly in excess, in percentage terms, of that available to boats in Killybegs with a track record. That was one only criterion. There is a totally different criterion for herring fishing. Why is that the case? If the quota was distributed using the same criterion as that used for boarfish, at least there would be a fair distribution in Killybegs. This will impact on jobs, which will be lost. Some people working in fish factories in Donegal do not realise the implications of this decision. We can refer to the decisions of the past and what occurred five or ten years ago, but this decision was taken on the Minister's watch in the past two months. The decision, taken with the stroke of a pen, will mean families in Killybegs and people working in factories will lose their jobs. It was not taken on scientific grounds. If it had been, the Minister would have used the same template as that used for the distribution of boarfish quotas. However, it was not done on that basis and, therefore, cannot be fair. It is regrettable.

Photo of John PerryJohn Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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That is rich coming from the Senator since Fianna Fáil was in government for 14 years.

Photo of Brian Ó DomhnaillBrian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State is in government now. A new team is in place. The Minister of State should play in his half.

Photo of John PerryJohn Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The Senator had a great opportunity to represent the fishing community, but he completely ignored Letterkenny and the rest of County Donegal.

Photo of Brian Ó DomhnaillBrian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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There is no fishing industry in Letterkenny.

Photo of John PerryJohn Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Nothing was done for the south west, Killybegs or the harbour.

Photo of Brian Ó DomhnaillBrian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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Nothing is being done now, although there is a major problem there.

Photo of John PerryJohn Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Factories were shut down by the last Government.

Photo of Brian Ó DomhnaillBrian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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No. They will be shut down now with this policy.

Photo of John PerryJohn Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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There is no comparison between boarfish and herring quotas. That is based on scientific fact. The Senator can shake his head all he wishes, but the fact is that the last Administration completely neglected Killybegs for 14 years.

Photo of Brian Ó DomhnaillBrian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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It is based on political fact.