Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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1731. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his attention has been drawn to the UK statutory instrument which introduced restrictions on engine sizes for flyseine vessels within the 12 nautical mile limit; whether his Department has examined the possibility of such a measure in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20275/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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On 16 December 2024, UK legislation was amended, via a Statutory Instrument (SI) to implement several management measures as set out in three published UK Fisheries Management Plans (FMP) including that of the Channel demersal non-quota species FMP (Fisheries Management Plan).

One of the measures introduced, in order to help manage fishing effort on demersal non-quota species in inshore fishing grounds, was the introduction of a restriction on the engine power of vessels (greater than 221 Kw) using flyseining gear in the English territorial waters (0-12 nm) of the Channel Sea.

The Commission and EU Member States were consulted on these measures through the FMP (Fisheries Management Plan) consultations and a Notification was sent, in accordance with Article 496(3) of the Trade and Cooperation agreement (TCA) between the European Union and the United Kingdom, of the intention to amend the legislation on 17 October 2024.

The UK and EU have agreed to work together through the Specialised Committee on Fisheries to develop multi-year strategies for managing non-quota stocks.

Ireland will continue to promote the sustainability of fish stocks, while ensuring sufficient supply of species to allow fishers into the future derive a fair return.