Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 153: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources further to the recent research in the International Journal Science that concluded that by 2050 there will be virtually no global fish stocks left, that stocks have already collapsed in around one-third of sea fisheries and that the decline is rapidly increasing across the globe, the measures he will undertake to ensure the long-term sustainability of fish stocks here; the proposals the Government has suggested at EU level to combat declining fish-stocks; if he will introduce a sea fisheries sustainability impact assessment based on consultation with all major stakeholders and which would be brought before Dáil Éireann on an annual basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38851/06]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The report to which the Deputy refers made a number of worrying points in relation to the consequences of the loss of biodiversity, the effects of overfishing, loss of species, and their effects on the ability of the oceans to heal themselves. However, the report's main author goes on to say "I am confident we will not go there because we will do something about it".

Here in Ireland, we are well aware that ocean management and fisheries management are interlinked. We know the issues in the waters around Ireland and we are working to address them at national, EU and international level.

Fish stocks in the waters around Ireland are exploited under the umbrella of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. A fundamental principal underpinning this Policy is to manage the exploitation of the stocks in a way that protects their long-term viability. The Marine Institute reports that over 75% of the key commercial stocks around Ireland are outside safe biological limits with either a low stock size or unsustainable levels of exploitation.

We are working hard to strengthen conservation and promote sustainability. For example, the EU designated a Biologically Sensitive Area off our south coast in 2003 in recognition of the importance of this area for juvenile fish and for spawning. A recovery plan for hake, near collapse in 2000, was also introduced and the stock has rebuilt.

We must improve our knowledge base and also work towards effective enforcement at national, EU and international level. Irish scientists, industry and managers are working together for example on a suite of new projects that will improve the assessment and advice for key stocks:

Anglerfish off the West of Ireland (surveys on fishing vessels)

Cod in the Celtic Sea (closed boxes introduced to help stock recover)

Irish Sea Cod Recovery Box.

We must deliver strengthened control and a level playing field and I have pursued this agenda strongly at EU level since my appointment.

Our common goal is to have a sustainable fishing industry with sustainable fish stocks, operating in a sustainable ocean. This must be done in partnership with stakeholders at EU and international level. I see little benefit in introducing a sustainable impact assessment to be brought before Dail Eireann. As we are operating within a common EU policy, a focus on a national framework would have limited value.

At EU level there is a substantial framework for assessment in place involving scientific evaluation on the state of the stock by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), an assessment of the economic and social aspects of the scientific advice by the EU Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) and stakeholders assessment by the Regional Advisory Councils (RACs). All of this operates within a very tight time frame to inform consideration of TACs and quotas, for the following year, at the December Fisheries Council.