Rose Conway-Walsh: Says coastal fishermen feel 'abandoned'
Rose Conway-Walsh addressed the minister on the plight of the fishing industry, arguing it has been let down by successive governments and by the Brexit trade and cooperation agreement. She called for substantial reform of the common fisheries policy, a fairer quota distribution and rejection of long-term downsizing of the inshore fleet in Mayo.
Main concerns
The speaker said the entire fishing industry feels let down and abandoned and reported that fishermen tell her this repeatedly. She criticised closed meetings that exclude outside voices and said coastal communities expect cooperative action and accountability from the minister and government.
Brexit and quota losses
She highlighted losses under the trade and cooperation agreement, saying 199 million worth of EU-wide quotas were transferred back to Britain and that around 43 million - about a quarter of the total - came at the expense of this state's fishing sector. The sector here lost 15% of its total quota and the European Commission review of the common fisheries policy will be presented to the European Council and Parliament at the end of next year, making substantial reform vitally important.
Impact on Mayo's fleet
The speaker emphasised the importance of the fishing industry to Mayo and other coastal communities and said the local fleet is predominantly inshore. While accepting short-term supports such as voluntary cessation may be necessary, she rejected the idea that long-term downsizing and repeated decommissioning are acceptable solutions, noting fishermen want to fish rather than tie up vessels.
Seafood task force recommendations
She described the seafood task force as having been established to recommend measures to mitigate quota reductions arising from the agreement and said its report addresses longer-term fleet restructuring through voluntary permanent cessation schemes, including the inshore sector. She insisted the final report's recommendations must be implemented for the survival of fishing and coastal communities.
Quota distribution and Article 16 concerns
The speaker demanded a fairer quota system and distribution, arguing Article 16 has not been applied properly here. She pointed to the uneven mackerel entitlements - 1,500 vessels but fewer than 50 with mackerel entitlements, and at least one medium vessel holding an allocation equal to 1,000 smaller vessels - and called for transparency on how compensation money could be spent on piers, infrastructure and processing capacity in places like Eris.
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Minister, our fishing industry, as you are well aware, makes a huge contribution to the economic and social fabric of many small communities located around our coastline, not least my own county of Mayo and the coastal area there. But the entire fishing industry feels let down and abandoned. They tell me that every day of the week. They told me today, they told me yesterday, they told me last week. Sinn Fein fully recognised the importance of cooperation at an international level predominantly through the EU for the sustainable management of fish stocks. That said, the current common fisheries policy is a terrible deal for Ireland and always has been. This has been the result of a litany of historical failures for successive governments to secure a fair deal for our fishing sector. This has been compounded by the disaster of the recent Brexit trade and cooperation agreement, as you know. The agreement saw 199 million worth of EU-wide quotas transferred back to Britain. Around 43 million essentially a quarter of the total came at the expense of the fishing sector in this state. The sector here lost 15% of our total quota. The European Commission is in the process of conducting the review as was discussed of the common fisheries policy and that will be presented to the European Council in Parliament at the end of next year. It is vitally important that we have substantial reform. But how can the sector trust the government given the track record? That is what they are asking me. I know there is a meeting arranged of a range of government tomorrow where they do not want any other outside voices in it tomorrow morning which I think is very disappointing as well because I think we need to be working together. We need to sort this out for the sake of our coastal communities. That is what people expect from us. That is what the fishermen along our coast and certainly along the coast of Mayo expect from us. The seafood task force was established to make recommendations to the minister on measuring measures to mitigate the impacts of fish quota shares reductions arising from the trade and cooperation agreement on the fishing industry. The report talks about the longer term fleet restructuring measures through the voluntary permanent cessation schemes including the inshore sectors. I want to balance recognising how important the fishing industry is while also underdeveloped by international standards. The fishing fleet operating in Mayo is predominantly the inshore fleet and while short term supports for voluntary cessation may be necessary, the idea that the long term solution is to downsize the sector in Mayo is completely unacceptable. The fishing industry provides an essential source of income for many people in communities along the coast of Mayo and fishing is one of the few jobs that has sustained communities throughout the tough times. When a state reduces its fleet it is in a retrograde step. This is the third time we have introduced decommissioning. Fishermen want to fish. They do not want to tie up schemes or decommissioning. They want quota to be allowed and to be allowed to do the job that they love. They feel totally abandoned and let down by successive Irish governments and they want a fair distribution. Minister, we need to implement the recommendations of the final report for the very survival of the fishing communities and coastal communities but this cannot be the end of it. Unless there is a fairer and more balanced and viable approach our communities are going to be decimated. We need a fairer quota system. Not only the overall quota system but how it is distributed as well. We need to know in places like Eris where we do not have processing plants. I do think that is a failure of government as well. How that money is going to be spent. Can it be spent on piers and infrastructure and other things. In article 16. In article 16 it has not been done properly here in Ireland where quota is divided out. We have 1500 vessels only have less than 50 with mackerel entitlements. One medium vessel has an allocation equal to 1000 smaller vessels. That is not right. The unfair distribution of the quota, even the quota as it is, has to be re-looked at. I hope, Minister, that you are going to take from today what is needed for the coastal communities because the coastal communities and the fishermen in County Mayo feel absolutely abandoned by this government. And they are not going to be put off with meetings where there is no opposition or where the hard questions are not asked. We need to all work together. We have a responsibility. You have a responsibility in government. And we and our own spokesperson, Paaric McLaughlin, has done Trojan work on this. We want to work with you. We want to get it right. We want to get it right, not just for now, but for 10 years time, 20 years time and into generations. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
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