Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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134. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to secure a share of the European Union’s quota of Atlantic bluefin tuna for the Irish fishing fleet to reflect the abundance of the species in Irish territorial waters and the Irish EEZ; and his views on whether such a quota could be of particular benefit to the inshore fishing fleet. [26031/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, the available Bluefin Tuna quota is allocated each year to Member States on the basis of relative stability as established in the late 1990s.  At that time, Ireland did not have a track record of commercial fishing for Bluefin Tuna and, accordingly, did not receive a quota allocation. 

The only way to obtain a share of the EU quota now would involve changing relative stability within the EU and would require a majority of Member States to agree under the qualified majority voting system.  This means that EU Member States with a national quota would have to give up a share of their allocation to Ireland.  Any change to relative stability would involve a loss for some other Member States and therefore poses particular challenges in a qualified majority voting context. 

Bluefin Tuna is a highly migratory large pelagic species which spawns in the Mediterranean and then migrates over a wide area of the North East Atlantic to feed.  This migration brings some of the fish into the Irish 200 miles zone for part of the year. At the time we see fish in the Irish zone, there are also fish being caught in the international high seas and over a wide area from Spain to Norway.  There is no survey from which the abundance in Ireland's 200 miles zone may be determined. 

The CFP is reviewed every 10 years and the next review is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year when the European Commission will report to the European Parliament and the Council on the functioning of the CFP.  I have made clear that this review must be detailed and comprehensive.  At EU level, all stakeholders have an opportunity to engage actively in the review work including the fishing industry, eNGOs and Member States.  

I am committed to doing all possible through the review of the CFP to secure additional quota where possible for Irish fishers.  I have established a national Common Fisheries Policy Review group of relevant stakeholders to examine the issues that arise for Ireland in the context of the CFP Review, to advise me on priorities for the negotiations and to identify strategies most likely to influence the outcome of the review.  The Group is chaired by Mr. John Malone, former Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, and assisted by a steering committee comprising Mr. Micheál Ó Cinneide, former Director of the MI and EPA and Mr. Donal Maguire, former Director in BIM.  The Group involves representatives of key stakeholders, including industry representative groups and the environmental NGOs.  I look forward to receiving this report which will provide a strong basis for progressing all aspects of Ireland's case for change in the CFP.