Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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275. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the action he will take to mitigate harm caused by supertrawlers on fishing communities in view of a recent documentary (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5067/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I share many of the concerns expressed in the documentary referred to by the Deputy.  In particular, those that referred to illegal fishing in excess of quota limits and “high grading”. The discarding of smaller less valuable fish is completely unacceptable and must be effectively ended.

There has been a focus on risk based controls by our control authorities the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and the Naval Service in recent times in order to ensure that State resources are concentrated on those fishing vessels that are considered to be doing the most damage. We need to do more in this area and I am working at EU level for additional tools for Ireland to strengthen our control capability in respect of all fishing vessels operating in our 200 mile zone.

The monitoring and control of fishing vessels within Ireland’s Exclusive Fisheries Zone are matters for the Irish control authorities. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 2006, all operational issues of this nature concerning sea fisheries control are, as a matter of law, exclusively for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Naval Service. The Minister is precluded from getting involved in operational matters including in relation to law enforcement.

In relation to the overall framework for fisheries control in the EU, in October 2009 a regulation dealing with fisheries controls was adopted. Council Regulation 1224/2009 establishes a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy. Control and inspection is now focused where it is most effective through an approach based on systematic risk analysis. Inspection procedures are standardised and harmonised for all stages in the market chain, including transport and marketing. The Control Regulations were introduced so that there is a common EU level playing field and to provide for an effective range of controls across EU waters.

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Naval Service through the Fisheries Monitoring Centre monitor the movements of vessels when in our Exclusive Fisheries Zone, using the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), Automatic Identification System (AIS) and declared catches through Electronic Reporting System (ERS). The SFPA is reliant on the seagoing fishery patrol activity of the Naval Service to verify compliance of vessels not landing into Ireland. Further details of monitoring and control of fishing activities by all vessels within Ireland's 200 miles Exclusive Fisheries Zone may be sought from the SFPA who are the competent authority for Sea Fisheries Control within Ireland's Exclusive Fishery Zone.