Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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545. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding trawling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8483/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the Irish Wildlife Trust's calls for the prohibition of pair trawling in coastal areas. I am advised that the practice of pair trawling in inshore waters and estuaries around Ireland is confined to fishing for sprat. The Irish Wildlife Trust also identifies sprat as the target species for this activity.

Sprat in Irish waters is not a species subject to fishing quotas or Total Allowable Catches established under EU regulation. The International Council of the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) considers sprat to be a data limited stock which means that more detailed data is required in order to form a full understanding of the state of the stock. In order to address that paucity of accurate information in respect of sprat stocks in the waters around Ireland, a three year research project, partially funded by industry, began in October 2014 under the auspices of the Marine Institute in cooperation with Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.

Through the Birds and Habitats Directive, among other instruments, Ireland is committed to ensuring the conservation of biodiversity of the sea birds and mammals around our coast. Regarding fish by-catch in sprat fisheries, I am advised that the most likely by-catch is of herring but that catches of juvenile mackerel cannot be ruled out. It should be noted that by-catch is a feature of a number of the fisheries around our coast given the mixed nature of many of our stocks. All catches of quota species are logged and landed and taken in to account by ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) when providing stock advice.

The Marine Institute are working on adding sprat to the species covered under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Marine Biodiversity Scheme in 2017. This would allow for more intensive data collection to enhance scientific knowledge and underpin any future management actions for the stock.

In addition, I have asked the Marine Institute to work in conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Service to consider how we can improve our knowledge, through observer programmes, of the possible impacts of these fisheries on by-catch of other fish, sea birds and mammals.