#Fishing - Marine Minister Simon Coveney wants an emergency fund to assist Irish mackerel fishermen who have been hit by Russia's ban on EU imports in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
As RTÉ News reports, Minister Coveney made the call at an emergency meeting of Europe's farming and fisheries ministers in Brussels yesterday (Friday 5 September), arguing that support provided to farmers should extend to the fishing sector.
Russia accounts for 25% of all mackerel exports from Ireland, and the minister added that Russia's EU seafood ban "means this is a big fisheries issue as well as an agri-food issue."
A €200 million fund has already been put in place to cover storage of goods that would have otherwise gone to Russia, and to redirect exports to new markets.
RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.