Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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607. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware that key stakeholders representing inshore and islands fishermen are no longer participating in the North West Herring Committee; if he will meet with those stakeholders (details supplied) to examine changes to the committee that will help all participants trust the process and reach a consensus on the allocation of herring. [13469/25]

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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608. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been brough to the fact that key stakeholders representing inshore and island fishermen are no longer participating in the North West Herring Committee; if he will meet with stakeholders (details supplied) to examine changes to the committee. [13469/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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In August 2023, the then Minister announced the outcome of the limited review of the 2012 Herring Management Policy in relation to the Herring 6a South quota for non-ringfenced vessels.

Following this limited review, the then Minister established a North-West Herring Advisory Committee (NWHAC), comprising one representative from each of the six Producer Organisations, one representative from the National Inshore Fisheries Forum, one representative from the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association, and one representative from the Fish Co-Operative umbrella group. This committee was to be supported by organisations such as, but not exclusive to, the Marine Institute, BIM and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority.

The primary purpose of the NWHAC was to advise the Minister within the policy framework in relation to the management arrangements of the Herring 6a South quota and fishery, including such matters as contingency and opening/closing dates.

I am aware that some members of the NWHAC have indicated that they have withdrawn from the Committee. My Department has engaged with the NWHAC and the relevant organisations, and has outlined suggestions to facilitate their continued engagement in order to ensure that representative bodies of the relevant sectors involved in the North West Herring fishery work through the Committee to express their views and come to a common industry position in relation to the management of this fishery. However, if that does not prove possible, the provision of advice/recommendations on this fishery will have to revert to the Quota Management Advisory Committee (QMAC).

The QMAC is a formal consultative committee involving fishing industry representatives from the catching, inshore and processing sectors. The QMAC meets on a monthly basis to make recommendations to me as Minister on monthly/bi-monthly/quarterly regimes for particular stocks, and industry representatives bring the benefit of their knowledge and experience of fishing to these discussions.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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609. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to secure an Irish quota for bluefin tuna; the increase in bluefin tuna quota allocated to the European Union under International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas over the past decade. [13470/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Bluefin Tuna quota available to the EU is allocated each year to Member States based on 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.

A small Bluefin Tuna by-catch quota is available to Ireland, primarily for use in our important Northern Albacore Tuna fishery and Celtic Sea Herring fishery where there can be Bluefin Tuna by-catch.

In 2018, Ireland was successful in securing, for the first time, an agreement that allowed Ireland to set up a catch-tag-release fishery to contribute to the collection of scientific data for the Bluefin tuna stock. A Catch-Tag-Release science-based fishery for authorised recreational angling vessels has been in place since 2019 and supports the collection of valuable data on the migratory patterns of Bluefin Tuna in Irish waters. This fishery is most beneficial to Ireland as it increases our knowledge of the behaviour and abundance of Bluefin Tuna in Northwestern waters while also providing a small but valuable tourism benefit to peripheral coastal communities.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for the conservation of tuna stocks, including Bluefin Tuna, in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. The EU is a contracting party to ICCAT.

A recovery plan for Bluefin Tuna was adopted by ICCAT in 2006 to address the alarming depletion in the levels of this stock. This resulted in greatly reduced catch limits in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic Ocean in an effort to rebuild stocks. As the stock began to improve, ICCAT moved from a recovery to a management plan in 2018. A new Bluefin Tuna management plan was adopted in 2022 which saw an increase for all contracting parties with a share of Bluefin Tuna, including the EU.

Ireland has made clear to EU Member States and the European Commission that Ireland considers that there is a case for an allocation of Bluefin Tuna quota to be made available to Ireland for a targeted fishery, in light of this increase and the data collected in the Catch-Tag-Release science-based fishery.

Ireland has requested the opening of discussions at EU level to progress our case. However, opening up this issue is difficult as other Member States are resistant to any discussion on amending relative stability for this stock. Any change to the existing system of quota allocations would require a majority of Member States to agree under the Qualified Majority Voting system. Any change to the current relative stability would involve a loss for some other Member States and, therefore, poses particular challenges in a qualified majority voting context.

Notwithstanding these challenges, I believe that there is a strong case for Ireland given the abundance of Bluefin Tuna in our waters and I will continue to pursue it at every opportunity.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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610. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the Brown Crab Working Group; the way the work of the group can lead to the sustainability of the species for coastal communities and identify new markets for Ireland's seafood industry. [13471/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Brown Crab Working Group was established last year to review the management of brown crab fishing in Ireland and to develop management options to support the sustainability of brown crab stocks, which are so important to Irish fishers and coastal communities. The matter of identifying markets for Irish seafood was outside the scope of the Working Group’s terms of reference, but I can assure the Deputy of Bord Bia’s ongoing work in that regard.

The Working Group consisted of industry representatives from the seafood Producer Organisations, the National and Regional Inshore Fisheries Forums and the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association. It was supported by my Department and representatives from the Marine Agencies. Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) chaired the Working Group and provided the secretariat.

The Working Group met in Athlone on two separate occasions in September and October 2024, when it thoroughly reviewed the status of brown crab stocks as well as management options. At the second session, Working Group members agreed a set of recommendations to support the sustainable management of Irish brown crab stocks.

BIM (as Chair) finalised these recommendations into a report that it submitted to my Department on behalf of the Working Group. These recommendations are currently under consideration.

Additionally, as the Working Group has concluded its work, I would like to thank the industry representatives for their engagement and commitment to this process, which was very welcome.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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611. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will urgently review the landing obligation requirements at piers and harbours around the coast, in cooperation with the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, to ensure fishermen operating smaller vessels are not endangered. [13472/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Landing Obligation, or Discards Ban, was introduced on a phased basis beginning in 2015, and has been fully implemented since 2019. It is illegal to discard any species covered by the Landing Obligation, other than permitted exemptions. These exemptions are fish species covered by a high survivability exemption, a de minimis exemption, fish which has been damaged by predators, prohibited species and species not managed under the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and Quota system.

As regards the process of landing fish, under EU rules, certain quantities and species of fish must be landed into designated ports. In addition, landings by Third Country vessels (including UK-registered Northern Ireland vessels) must take place at ports designated for that purpose.

The lists of these designated ports is available on the website of the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) www.sfpa.ie.

There are significant practical and cost implications for the State in the designation of ports, in that, for any ports designated, Ireland is obliged to ensure that it has in place a meaningful control presence.

The current ports designated, and the opening days and times for those ports, were decided in order to allow vessels to continue to land into Irish ports, while ensuring that the SFPA has the capacity to continue to perform its vital control functions effectively.

The designation of ports for landings does not preclude vessels from coming into ports for force majeure reasons such as safe harbour.