Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1131. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine by how much the Norwegian blue whiting quota in Irish waters exceeds Ireland’s quota; and when this decision was made. [17430/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Quotas for the various stocks are allocated for management areas - that is, an ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Seas) area or a part thereof - and not Coastal States' Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). Generally, most stock areas straddle more than one EEZ area. These stock areas can include EU Member States' EEZs, third countries' EEZs and international waters.

In the case of Blue Whiting, the management area covers ICES subareas 1-9, 12 and 14 - this covers a large area of the North-east Atlantic (including the waters around Ireland) as well as adjacent waters.

The 1980 Agreement is the main bilateral agreement governing the EU's fisheries relations with Norway. It covers the North Sea, Skagerrak and the North East Atlantic, and allows for the setting of Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for joint stocks, transfers of fishing possibilities, joint technical measures and issues relating to control and enforcement.

The main issues of concern for Ireland in the annual negotiations relate to transfers of the Blue Whiting stock in Western Waters to Norway and Norway's access for Blue Whiting in EU, in practice, Irish waters.

The transfer of Blue Whiting to Norway is a long-standing feature of the EU-Norway agreement, as it is used within the agreement as a “currency” in the negotiations to pay for Arcto-Norwegian cod in the Barents Sea which the EU receives from Norway under an agreement reached as part of Norway's accession to the EEA.

Ireland's long-standing position is that those who benefit most from this transfer of Arctic cod pay for it or, as a minimum, contribute most.

The EU-Norway negotiations for 2023 concluded on 17 March 2023. The agreement reached will see the EU transfer 74,000 tonnes of Blue Whiting to Norway in exchange for Arctic Cod. Norway may catch this Blue Whiting in EU waters, excluding the area south of 56°30’N and east of 12°W (this is the area in the Irish EEZ commonly referred to as the “Irish Box”). In addition to the transfer amount, Norway may fish 150,000 tonnes of its own national Blue Whiting quota in EU waters, excluding the “Irish Box”.

Ireland's contribution to the transfer amount is capped at 4% and, significantly, it has been established for the first time that Ireland will be directly compensated with additional quota by other Member States for transfers and access provisions. This results in over 4,000 tonnes of additional Blue Whiting quota for Ireland, giving Irish fishers a total Blue Whiting quota of 53,776 tonnes for 2023 worth in excess of €13 million.

In addition, I was able to secure a significant reduction in the level of Norwegian access to EU, and consequently Irish, waters. Traditionally, Norway has been able to catch up to 68% of its own Blue Whiting quota in EU waters. The amount agreed for 2023 (150,000 tonnes) represents only 45% of Norway’s 2023 Blue Whiting quota – a 33% reduction on previous years.

These outcomes - direct compensation for Ireland, a reduction in the traditional level of Norwegian access and their complete exclusion from the "Irish Box" - represent a positive result for Irish fishers. I worked closely with Irish Fishing industry representatives throughout the negotiation process and their cooperation and active campaigning in Europe was key in securing this strong outcome for Irish fishers.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1132. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how the blue whiting quota is distributed among the Irish fleet; and if he will explain the rationale behind this distribution. [17431/23]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1134. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the rationale for the allocation of 9% of the blue whiting quota to the polyvalent feet in comparison to the 91% allocated to the 23 Refrigerated Seawater vessels. [17433/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1132 and 1134 together.

The Blue Whiting fisheries quota management policy is established policy and was put in place following a public consultation process in June 2014. The 2014 policy put in place sets down a clear, transparent, and fair process for the management of the blue whiting fishery.

In 2014, the Minister published a consultation document on the management arrangements and sought the views of the industry representative bodies on the paper. This consultation document was prepared taking account of the views submitted by Industry representative bodies, the existing sharing arrangements between segments, and the internal segment management arrangements, together with the history of the fishery and its future potential.

The Minister recognised the increased interest from the polyvalent vessels and increased the share allocated to this segment from 6% to 9%.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1133. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of vessels with authorisations to fish in Irish waters for the 2023 season. [17432/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department has no role in authorising vessels other than Irish licensed and registered vessels in the Blue whiting fishery. In 2023, 23 vessels from the RSW Pelagic Segment and 12 vessels from the Polyvalent Segment have been authorised to fish for Blue whiting in the specified area, which includes Irish waters. The specified area is defined as follows: United Kingdom, Union and international waters of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8a, 8b, 8d, 8e,12 and 14.