Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his views on whether the fact that the quota management system here is based on statutory regulations rather than being regulated by industry management as in other EU countries causes more difficulty for Irish fishermen; and if he will consider changing the system to one which is clearly more flexible to operate. [3686/05]

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the current management system for our quotas, officials from this Department meet industry representatives at the start of the year, and on a monthly basis thereafter, to discuss how best to manage the quotas available to us. On the basis of these discussions, management regimes are agreed and implemented for the individual stocks. The guiding principles of this process have been to ensure that fisheries remain open, even where the available catch is very limited due to the size of the quota, and that Ireland fulfils its legal obligations to effectively enforce fisheries regulations and conservation measures.

I recognise that our current arrangements for quota management have been in place for many years and require review and adjustment. We need to take account of the substantial investment, with grant aid support, that has taken place in recent years and the reality that the current system was put in place at a time when our whitefish quotas were significantly higher. I am committed to a root and branch review of how we manage our whitefish quotas.

I intend to have an independent economic assessment undertaken of the fishing possibilities which are available to our whitefish fleet and comparing this with the fishing opportunities that will be required to ensure a long-term viable future for our whitefish fleet. This study will review the quota management system taking into account the views of the sector and systems in operation in other countries. It will then make recommendations on the options for change, taking account of our fleet structure and fishing possibilities.

This study will inform the level and nature of changes which we will need to bring to our quota management system and our future fleet policies for the whitefish fleet. I will fully involve the industry representatives in how we take the recommendations forward.