Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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741. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the kilowatt system is used for access to Irish waters within Europe; the countries that have kilowatt days in the Irish EEZ for demersal or pelagic fish; the species and types of fishing that these kilowatt days apply to; and the way these days are assigned to countries and accounted for during the calendar year. [8824/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The fishing effort regime, or kilowatt system, is set down for Western Waters under EU legislation (Council Regulation (EC) No 1954/2003and Council Regulation (EC) No 1415/2004). The effort-based management system was introduced to ensure that there was no increase in the overall levels of fishing effort from the levels in the preceding years and supports the total allowable catch (TAC) and quotas system.

The effort regime sets effort limits for all EU Member States for demersal resources excluding deep-sea species, scallops, and edible crab/spider crab. Effort levels are not set for pelagic fisheries like mackerel, herring, horse mackerel, albacore, or swordfish in the EU’s western waters.

The fishing effort regime are not set down based on the 200 miles Exclusive Economic Zone of Member States.The regime applies to a number of International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) areas covering waters around Ireland, UK, France, Spain and international waters of:

- Area 6

- Area 7 outside the Biologically Sensitive Area

- Area 8

- The Biological Sensitive Area.

Under the effort regime, Member States have access to fish in these areas subject to fishing effort restrictions set down in the legislation (measured in kilowatt-days). The effort levels for each Member State is set down in the Annex to Council Regulation (EC) No 1415/2004and levels available are not amended each year other than by means of exchange (swops) between Member States.The Annex sets down the Member States that has fishing effort for each relevant area and for each category as set out above.

To assist effort management, EU Member States monitor effort consumption and report to the European Commission on a monthly basis. Member States are required to close fisheries when effort allocations are exhausted and deductions are applied to future fishing effort of the Member State concerned where the EU Commission has established that the Member State has exceeded the fishing effort allocated to it.Member States may exchange effort with each other. Ireland exchanges fishing effort for crab in the BSA each year to support its inshore fleet targeting crab, and also exchanges demersal effort with other Member States from time to time in exchange for quotas of key stocks. All fishing effort exchanges are examined and recommended by the Quota Management Advisory Committee. The effort regime does not apply to non-EU fishing vessels.However, other than the UK, no other Third Country has access to the EU zone of Western Waters for demersal, crab or scallop fishing.