Written answers

Thursday, 22 June 2017

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Fishing Licences

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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16. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will report on the progress made on the implementation of a heritage licence in the inshore fisheries sector which was a recommendation of the report on sustainable island and fishing communities published in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27933/17]

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I presume the Deputy is referring to recommendation 10 of the Report on Promoting Sustainable Rural Coastal and Island Communities of the former Joint Sub-Committee on Fisheries published in January 2014.  That recommendation stated:

The sub-Committee recommends that the Government examines the feasibility of 'heritage licences‘ to be issued by the Department for rural coastal and island communities. Such licences would, optimally facilitate traditional fishing practices in conjunction with the establishment of a producer organisation representing vessels under a certain LOA in these designated areas.

I understand that this recommendation arose in relation to requests for special concessions for certain groups to fish commercially for wild salmon.  Such matters are proper to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment who retains responsibility for Inland Fisheries including management of wild salmon stocks.  

While establishment of producer organisations is a matter for industry partcipants themselves, funding is available under the European and Maritime Fisheries Fund for which my Department is the Managing Authority.  

On the matter of the Inshore Fisheries sector, the National Inshore Fisheries Forum is now the established arena for setting sectoral priorities and discussion on proposals to enhance the sustainability of that sector.  I am particularly encouraged by recent steps the Forum is taking to initiate the development of an Inshore Fisheries Strategy which will help to guide the work of the Forums in improving the opportunities available to the sector overall.

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