Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1723.To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress on the ban on pair trawling for 18 m-plus within the six-nautical-mile limit; and when this ban is expected to come into effect. [33499/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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In December 2018, a transition period to a ban on vessels over 18 metres trawling in inshore waters, inside the six nautical mile zone was announced. A significant part of the objective of this measure was to manage the fishing effort on sprat stocks which are primarily targeted within inshore waters. This measure, however, was the subject of extended legal proceedings the outcome of which, received last year, is that the ban has been overturned.

In February 2024, I held a new public consultation on a review of trawling activity inside the six nautical mile zone and the baselines. The consultation took place over a period of eight weeks and closed on Friday 12th April. This consultation took place without prejudice.

The purpose of this consultation was to invite stakeholders and interested parties to advise me of their views on any changes to policy within the scope of this review. A large volume of submissions - over 5,000 - were received. These submissions will be used to inform my review of trawling activity inside the six nautical mile zone and baselines. My Department is in the process of analysing the submissions. All relevant issues must be carefully considered before a decision can be made.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1724.To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide a breakdown of this year’s fishing quotas, and the allocation of each species to inshore fishers and line fishers, in tabular form. [33500/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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In Ireland, quotas are a public resource and are managed to ensure that property rights are not granted to individual operators. The result of this long standing policy is that the Irish fishing fleet involves a balanced spread of sizes and types of fishing vessels who have retained a strong economic link with our coastal communities and have delivered economic activity including vital employment in these communities, where there are very limited alternative economic activities.

Our fish quota management system is designed to ensure the best possible spread, both between fishing vessel operators and in terms of take up of quota throughout the year, having regard to fishing patterns and market conditions.

Quotas are generally managed on a monthly basis, with catch limits being set for each month.

Catch limits are not set on the basis of whether a vessel is an inshore or offshore vessel as such. In the case of Whitefish (Demersal) quotas, monthly catch limits are set for vessels over and under 55 feet in length. Pelagic stocks (such as Mackerel, Blue Whiting, Herring etc.) are managed in line with the policies for those fisheries, which specify how the quota is allocated to the various sectors of the fleet operating in the individual fisheries. These sectors are often defined by the types of gear used, for example the Mackerel Hook & Line Fishery, there is a specific allocation for vessels fishing by means of hooks and lines. The specific allocation for each fishery is provided in the monthly Fishery Management Notices which are available on my Department's website from the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/b7667-fisheries-management-notices-2024/

Consultation is carried out each month at the Quota Management Advisory Committee (QMAC) meeting involving fishing industry representatives from the catching and processing sectors, the Department and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, which provides up-to-date catch data for stocks.

The document at the following link provides a breakdown of Ireland's quota for 2024 by species, as set out in the annual Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and Quota Regulation. The figures in the table do not include quota carried over from 2023 or quota swapped to or from other Member States or the UK.