The war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis have led to a collapse in the processed shrimp market, the National Inshore Fishermen’s Association (NIFA) says.
“In previous years with shrimp, good prices would normally be expected in the lead-up to Christmas, but they are now no longer being purchased either,” the NIFA says.
“ This puts an added strain on inshore fishermen, many in punts of only 16 to 18 feet long, and their families at the worst time of the year,” it says.
“Already this winter, inshore fishermen have had to deal with poorer than usual weather conditions. The almost traditional frosty fortnight at the end of November/early December failed to materialise,” the association says.
“ Instead, it was replaced by a run of gales and storms since mid-October which is only now abating. This permitted fishing in only very short windows of workable weather, often as much as a fortnight apart.”
“The foundation of the fishermen's current predicament was laid early in the year when restrictions on the already meagre 400-tonne allowance for hook and line mackerel made the fishery uneconomical to prosecute,” it says.
It notes that buyers had to “resort to Spain to provide quality line-caught fish for their discerning customers”.
The association says its members have also been hit by fuel cost increases, while bait prices have also “soared” as larger whitefish vessels have taken advantage of tie-up schemes.
As a result, most bait is now imported.
NIFA chair Michael Desmond says the only bright light has been the lifting of restrictions on the spurdog fishery after an 11-year closure. A quota of 1,874 tonnes for spurdog has been set for Irish fishers in 2023, according to Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue.
Mr Desmond said that the NIFA agreed with setting a quota, as the species is long-lived, slow-growing and late-maturing species and vulnerable to over-fishing. Scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) recommended setting a quota for 2023 to allow for reopening of the fishery..”
However, due to the various challenges facing the inshore sector, crewmen are now leaving, and replacement labour is proving difficult, if not impossible, to procure, he said.
“The inshore fleet, by far the largest sector of the national fleet, is now under severe pressure,” the NIFA has said in a statement.
“The larger whitefish vessels have already received four tranches of financial support. Farmers and almost every other sector have all been supported, and the inshore fishermen are feeling neglected at this point in time,” it said.
The European Commission has recently adopted the € 258m European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) seafood development programme, and has said that resources are available to mitigate the impact of the war in Ukraine, he said.
“Surely, we can also be financially supported through this scheme. At the moment, 91% of the fleet is inshore. If this could be divided between the affected inshore boats through the BIM grant porthole system, it would be an immediate, but short-term, fix,” he said.