Early last year, BIM’s newly appointed chief executive Caroline Bocquel told the offshore renewable energy sector that it must improve its communication with the Irish fishing industry.
Speaking at the second national seafarers’ conference, she told offshore wind developers that there should be “minimal impact” on the commercial fishing sector, which is already experiencing significant challenges, including the impact of Brexit.
So have things improved, given the pressure to develop offshore renewables, and how is the fishing industry weathering the aftermath of loss of quotas and fleet decommissioning due to Brexit?
“I think we have more in common with other small islands around the world in some cases than we do with our European neighbours,” she says.
Ireland could be a leader with a fleet that is zero carbon, sustainable and with premium quality catch, she says.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, is helped by Caroline Bocquel, CEO, BIM, to put on a personal flotation device at the launch of BIM’s new 12 metre Sea Survival Training Pool at the National Fisheries College in Greencastle, Co. Donegal
Bocquel, a keen dinghy and cruiser sailor who moved to BIM from the Marine Institute and work abroad with Goal, believes it is time for a new vision for our seafood sector.
She also says relations between the fishing industry and the offshore renewable sector have entered a new phase, but there are still challenges, and also opportunities, ahead.
She spoke to Wavelengths and her interview is below.
