The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, a €1 million Irish scheme to mitigate the impact of reduced quotas for landed fish on fisheries cooperatives in the wake of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Support will be available to fisheries cooperatives that are primarily focused on fish species whose quota has been reduced and are reliant on the commission earned from landings of fish species caught by their members’ vessels for revenue.
Under the scheme, compensation will be granted in the form of a direct grant to cover for the losses in revenue resulting from the shortage of landed fish. Eligible fisheries cooperatives will be able to receive up to €250,000. The scheme will run until 31 December this year.
The measure is planned to be financed under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), established to mitigate the economic and social impact of Brexit, subject to approval under the specific provisions governing funding from that instrument.
The commission assessed the measure under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which allows member states to support the development of certain economic activities or regions under certain conditions, and under the guidelines for the examination of state aid to the fishery and aquaculture sector.
The commission says the scheme will ensure that the fishing and processing sector and onshore fishing-related activities remain economically viable and competitive.
It adds that approval under EU state ad rules was granted on the basis that the scheme facilitates the development of an economic activity and does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest.
Announcing the scheme on Friday (22 July), Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue said: “The cooperatives collectively manage the sales and distribution of close to €100 million worth of fish. Over the course of 2021, sales from the cooperatives were reduced by approximately €15 million compared to 2019, translating to a loss of commission for the cooperatives of up to €1.2 million.
“This caused cash flow difficulties for the cooperatives throughout 2021, limiting their financial capacity to re-configure and re-structure their businesses to adapt to the changed trading environment under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
“The Brexit Fisheries Cooperative Transition Scheme I am announcing today will provide liquidity aid of 7.5% of the reduction in fish sales for the cooperative’s boats compared to 2019, up to a maximum payment of €250,000 per qualifying cooperative. The scheme will be open to fisheries cooperatives that are primarily focused on TCA quota species — that is, cooperatives whose members’ landings comprise 75% or more TCA quota species.”
Further details of the scheme will be available from the BIM website.