The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has published its annual classification list for commercial shellfish (bivalve mollusc) production areas across Ireland.

This assesses 135 classifications in 60 production areas against strict safety requirements for human consumption.

Across Ireland, nine production areas received “upgrades” during the 2022 review of classifications, one production area received a shift in Seasonal A classification, twelve production areas received “downgrades”, one production area was de-classified for mussels, two production areas were declared as dormant, and two production areas received additional classifications, the SFPA says.

Ireland produces an estimated 28,100 tonnes of shellfish - including mussels, oysters, clams, cockles and scallops - from classified production areas annually, the SFPA says.

An additional 2,700 tonnes of scallops are landed from offshore sites, it says.

Live shellfish can only be harvested from production areas which meet strict classification requirements for human consumption, as set out under European and Irish Food laws.

The SFPA, in collaboration with the shellfish industry, conducts regular shellfish sampling in all production areas, monitoring the levels of bacterial contamination of shellfish to determine the risk and classification status. Each production area is designated a rating that determines the conditions, if any, which need to be observed before shellfish can be sold for human consumption.

The Irish aquaculture sector is worth an estimated €64 million annually (at the first point of sale) and employs around 1,984 people across the country. Around 90% of shellfish produced in Ireland is exported, principally to European and Asian markets, and Ireland is the second largest producer of oysters in Europe after France, according to Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

SFPA executive chair Paschal Hayes said that Ireland’s shellfish monitoring programme was important for both consumers and commercial producers.

“One of the principal remits of the SFPA is to ensure that Irish and international consumers can be assured of the quality and safety of fish and seafood harvested here, and that we have sustainable stocks for generations to come,” he said.

“Shellfish production is an important industry in many coastal communities around Ireland and it is essential that the highest standards of food safety are maintained at all times,” he added.

“ The SFPA works in collaboration with industry and other state agencies to ensure that production areas are of the highest possible standard and meet rigorous assessment criteria to ensure that the safety and quality of the shellfish placed on the market is not compromised in any manner,” he said.

“ This work is an important pillar in both preserving and further enhancing Ireland’s global reputation for quality, safe and delicious seafood. It is incumbent upon all working in the industry to remain vigilant to any risks which have the potential to impact our seafood production areas and that we adopt a collective approach throughout with a focus on quality and sustainable seafood,” Hayes said.

Sinéad Keaveney, who is the Marine Institute’s shellfish microbiology team leader said that the publication of the classification list is the annual culmination of the ongoing partnership between the Marine Institute and SFPA in the microbiological monitoring of shellfish production areas in Ireland.

“As the National Reference Laboratory for monitoring E. coli contamination in bivalve shellfish, the Marine Institute oversees the national E. coli testing programme,” she said.

“ This contributes significantly to the assessment of the risk of microbiological contamination in shellfish production areas and the overall classification status of individual production areas,” she said.

The SFPA carries out its annual review of all shellfish classifications, drawing on the previous three-year dataset of microbiological results for classifications.

Escherichia coli (E.coli) is used as a proxy or faecal indicator; E.coli levels in shellfish samples are used to determine the classification status of production sites and determines the required harvesting protocols.

During the period January 2019 to January 2022, approximately 4,788 microbiological E.coli samples were taken by the SFPA and reviewed.

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has issued a warning to the public not to gather shellfish for personal consumption in the Castlemaine harbour area of Co Kerry, due to the presence of two marine toxin groups.

The toxin groups, Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PST) and Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxins (DST), can cause serious illness if contaminated shellfish is consumed either raw or cooked, the SFPA said.

It confirmed the toxins were detected during routine testing as part of Ireland’s shellfish monitoring programme, which is managed by the SFPA with the Marine Institute.

“ As a result of the detection, the Castlemaine production area is now closed for the harvesting of shellfish until further notice,” it said.

“Ireland has a robust and effective shellfish monitoring programme in place to ensure that the highest standards of health and safety are maintained at all times, for the benefit of consumers and to maintain Ireland’s reputation as a world-class producer,” SFPA executive chair Paschal Hayes said.

“This monitoring programme has now detected the presence of two serious toxins in the Castlemaine harbour area, and we are strongly advising members of the public not to gather shellfish for personal consumption in this area,” he said.

“We are also reminding the public to only purchase seafood, whether for personal consumption or for sale, through reputable suppliers,” he said.

“ Food businesses, including restaurants and retail outlets, should always look for the oval approval number on orders which confirms the supplier is approved to sell live bivalve molluscs,” he said.

Bivalve molluscs, such as oysters, mussels, clams, and cockles may occasionally accumulate these naturally occurring toxins which are produced by certain species of phytoplankton, the SFPA explained.

“These naturally occurring toxins do not harm the shellfish but can cause illness in humans when contaminated shellfish are subsequently consumed,” it said.

“Under seafood safety regulations, live bivalve molluscs can only be harvested from production areas which meet the classification requirements for human consumption,” it said, and these are classified by the SFPA according to the quality of the waters.

The SFPA also conducts a monthly shellfish sampling programme of all classified production areas to monitor the levels of microbiological contamination.

Shellfish production areas are sampled on a weekly basis for analysis by the Marine Institute to determine their biotoxin status to ensure any shellfish species which are harvested is safe for human consumption

Mr Hayes said that anyone with concerns regarding fishing activity that might be illegal or contrary to seafood safety regulations should contact the regulator directly via its confidential telephone line at 1800 76 76 76.

All testing results are available on the the Marine Institute’s website here

Recreational fishers are urged to comply with regulations on catch, sale and purchase of crabs and lobsters, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has said.

The authority said it is also calling on all who purchase fish - and in particular those in the restaurant trade - to ensure that they purchase fish from legitimate sources only.

“They cannot purchase from recreational non-commercial fishers,” the SFPA has pointed out.

“It is important that all who are partaking in recreational fishing adhere to the regulations which are in place to protect the marine ecosystem and safeguard Ireland’s marine resources for future generations,”it said.

“ Whilst certain activities are allowed without a commercial license, there are limits in terms of quantities, and usage of fish. All such fish must comply with the general conservation requirements applicable to both commercial and recreational fishing,” it said.

Under EU and national legislation, recreational or non-commercial fishers who do not have a commercial fishing licence are restricted to doing no more than the following in pot fisheries:

• Fish for lobster and crab with pots from May 1st to September 30th only every year.
• Fish up to six pots (i.e., a maximum of 6 pots associated with their boat either in the water or on board at any time).
•  Retain up to five crabs and one lobster daily.
•  Eat their catch themselves or share with their immediate family – they cannot sell or offer for sale any catches (a commercial fishing license is needed to sell fish).
•  Only land fish above the legal-size limits. In Irish waters the minimum size of brown crab is 140mm; spider crab (130mm for males and 125mm for females) and velvet crab 65mm, while lobsters must be a minimum size of 87mm and maximum size 127mm (carapace length).
• Anyone who catches a crab or lobster outside these size limits, must return it immediately to the sea.
• Never retain a lobster that has been V-notched or has a mutilated tail – they must be released back into the water.
• Never catch crabs or lobster by means of skin-diving, which includes using apparatus of any kind which enables a person to breathe underwater.

“We are privileged to enjoy a plentiful supply of fish stocks such as mackerel, crab, lobster, and others such as clams, mussels and periwinkles around our coastlines,” SFPA executive chair Paschal Hayes said.

“It is critically important that we all work to ensure that we preserve the health of our marine ecosystems and safeguard our marine resources for future generations. Critical to this is following the regulations which prioritise sustainability and are in place to ensure the viability of our sea-fisheries,” he said.

“We are also reminding all recreational fishers, of the allowance applicable under the regulations which facilitates the catch for personal use only and not for resale. Further to this, I would appeal to the public to ensure that they only purchase seafood from legitimate sources which are those that are legally entitled to supply and sell sea-fisheries products on a commercial basis,” he said.

“This is vitally important. Purchasing illegally caught fish means your food comes outside of systems designed to ensure future sustainability and may present a risk to public health and risks damaging the positive reputation regarding the quality and authenticity of Ireland’s seafood,” Mr Hayes added.

“The SFPA urges anyone who suspects illegal fishing or activity that could compromise food safety to contact the regulator directly or by calling the SFPA confidential telephone line at 1800 76 76 76,” he said.

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) was asked to explain why it couldn’t sort out the fish landings row in Killybegs, Co Donegal, at an Oireachtas committee meeting on Wednesday.

“You’ve really significant powers, you’ve attained oversight of the factories with CCTV at an unprecedented level that doesn’t exist anywhere in Europe, you’re seen as the strongest regulator in Europe and we can’t get some solution to what’s going on in Killybegs that’s acceptable,” Sinn Féin fisheries and marine spokesman Pádraig MacLochlainn said.

“You guys have the highest reputation in Europe as regulators,” MacLochlainn continued.

He was addressing SFPA executive chair Paschal Hayes, along with SFPA colleagues Dr Micheál O’Mahony and Olive Loughnane, at a special hearing on the fish landings row held by the Oireachtas agriculture, food and marine committee.

“You have to do your job...you have to make sure there’s not illegal fishing, you have an array of serious powers,” MacLochlainn said.

“Surely we can sort this out, surely we can get to a point where we allow the industry to survive while you do your job which is an important job,” MacLochlainn said.

Responding, Mr Hayes said he was glad Deputy MacLochlainn recognised the important job the SFPA did, but there were parameters within which the agency had to work as a regulator.

“We are willing to discuss with anybody how we can advance in relation to that, keeping in mind that we have legislation from you as the Irish legislator, we have EU regulations that you insist that we implement and we have to keep those functions and issues in mind when we are arriving at a regulatory regime that will underpin the sustainability, the authenticity, and prevent food fraud - to be quite straight about it - within the Irish fishing seafood sector and food sector generally,” Mr Hayes said.

The SFPA had been asked to appear before the parliamentary committee by Independent TD for Cork South-West Michael Collins and colleagues in the continuing row over handling of pelagic fish landings in Killybegs.

Much of the meeting was dominated by technical questions over the background to the dispute, which arose when industry representatives said that three agreed options for checking weighing of landings were reduced to two without notice last March.

Asked by Sinn Fein TD for Donegal Pearse Doherty to explain why two Killybegs fish factories had permits revoked after they handled fish which was landed in Derry to ensure quality, Mr Hayes said that the SFPA was not comfortable discussing individual cases.

Mr Doherty asked Mr Hayes and colleagues to “convince the committee that this was not vindictive”.

Mr Hayes said that this was about sustainability of fish stocks at the end of the day.

In an opening statement running to 30 minutes, Mr Hayes said that it was “with genuine concern” that the SFPA became aware of a “sustained campaign of disinformation and misinformation suggesting the SFPA was not adhering to provisions of the Northern Ireland protocol following the UK departure from the EU”.

“The SFPA confirms that there has been no change in the fish weighing on landing arrangements between the Republic of Ireland and other jurisdictions as a result of Brexit,” it said.

“Under the EU regulations, which SFPA is bound to implement by this Oireachtas, landings to Northern Ireland could never have been weighed in Killybegs under the terms of an Irish 61(1) control plan,” Mr Hayes said.

“That 61(1) derogation is only applicable to post-transport weighing of fishery products when weighed within the member state of landing,” he said.

“The only way in which fishery products might be weighed in Killybegs following a landing to Northern Ireland, would be through a Common Control Programme between UK and Ireland approved by the EU Commission,” he said.

“ It is important to reiterate, no such Common Control Programme has ever existed, either before or after Brexit. Therefore, landings to Northern Ireland are treated similarly to landings in any EU state with which Ireland does not have a Common Control Programme,” he said.

“Irish operators may choose to purchase fish landed to a jurisdiction with which Ireland does not share an approved Common Control Programme, such as Northern Ireland,” he said.

“In such cases, the weighing must have taken place in the landing jurisdiction, either through the default of immediately at landing, or perhaps at a permitted post-transport establishment in that landing territory if a 61(1) control plan exists there,” he said.

“Crucially, however, the weight of the fish upon landing in another jurisdiction must be the weight declared by all parties. Declaration of a weight after transport at a processing facility in the jurisdiction of Ireland is not permitted,” Mr Hayes said.

“Permitting establishments to weigh after transport at a processing facility following a landing in the Republic of Ireland is a significant exemption available under the Interim Fisheries Control Plan
to operators who have the systems to apply such a permit appropriately,” he said.

“The SFPA will not accept the misuse of the weigh after transport system, which has the potential to jeopardise the EU Commission approved exemption for the entire fishing and seafood processing sector. If this exemption is revoked, all landings of pelagic and demersal fish across Ireland could be required to be weighed pierside,” he said.

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has confirmed that it has withdrawn permits for two fish processors in the continuing row over weighing of pelagic landings.

The SFPA also says it will “not accept the misuse” of the weigh after transport system for pelagic fish.

It was responding to criticism of its actions by two industry organisations, which have warned of losses of up to 40 million euro annually over the SFPA’s monitoring of bulk landings.

The Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation (IFPO) and Irish Fish Processors’ and Exporters’ Association (IFPEA) have called on Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue and the Government to “play a vital leadership role in urgently resolving this matter”.

The row erupted after Danish vessel Ruth headed back to Denmark instead of landing some 1200 tonnes of blue whiting for human consumption into Killybegs, Co Donegal on March 31st.

The SFPA had directed that the catch be landed over a weighbridge instead of a pierside system.

Danish vessel Ruth

Since then, several Norwegian vessels have opted to landed into Derry over the border, rather than into Killybegs, while a number of other vessels abandoned attempts to land into the port.

Last weekend, blue whiting caught on the maiden voyage of new Donegal vessel Lauren 95 has to be sent for processing as fishmeal, rather than being sold for human consumption, as the vessel was selected by SFPA officers for supervised weighing of catch.

Skipper Denis Carberry estimated it cost the vessel 55,000 euro in lost income.

Draining of refrigerated seawater from a vessel’s tanks “breaks the cold chain” and results in fish being compressed during transport, IFPEA chief executive Brendan Byrne said.

Byrne said that the SFPA was “over-interpreting” the common EU regulations, leaving the Irish industry at a substantial competitive and financial disadvantage compared to other EU coastal states.

IFPO chief executive Aodh O’Donnell said the weighing debacle must be addressed urgently “or displacement of supply could result in the loss of up to €40 million annually”.

The IFPEA and IFPO have pointed out that a High Court ruling in a case taken last year by the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation obliged the authorities to introduce an alternative weighing system.

“We call on the Government to halt the new regime immediately and implement the High Court ruling,” Byrne and O’ Donnell said in a joint statement.

The SFPA said that the flowscale system at Killybegs harbour which was the subject of the court case “is approved for the weighing of bulk pelagic fish in the 95% of instances where a supervised weighing upon landing under the terms of the EU approved interim control plan is not required”.

The SFPA said it was “not a system that meets the terms of the EU approved interim control plan in the 5% of bulk pelagic landings where a supervised weighing upon landing is required”.

It also defended its decision to withdraw permits from two factories, after fish which was due to be landed into their premises in Killybegs was offloaded in Derry and then delivered back over the border by truck.

“Operators can choose to land a catch at a port in another jurisdiction – including both EU and non-EU countries – before transporting and processing the catch in the Republic of Ireland,” the SFPA said.

“ However, the catch must be weighed on landing pierside in the landing state before transportation to the Republic of Ireland,” it said.

“ A Common Control Programme that would permit transport to the Republic of Ireland for weighing after a landing in Northern Ireland does not [exist] and has never existed,” it said.

It warned that any “misuse” of the system “has the potential to jeopardise the EU Commission approved exemption for the entire fishing and seafood processing sector”.

“If this exemption is revoked all 20,000 landings of pelagic and demersal fish annually could be required to be weighed pierside,” the SFPA said.

The SFPA said that to meet the requirements of the interim plan – which has now been extended until December - operators may select one of two options for conducting weighing before transport.

“To preserve the quality of the catch, fish are in water when weighed in both options. For absolute clarity there is no requirement in either instance for the fish to be weighed dry,”it said.

The SFPA said that vessel masters and operators in Killybegs can avail of the industry-owned pierside device to separate water from fish as it exits the vessel before discharging directly into a tanker pre-filled with water which is then weighed on the weighbridge (Water in Tare Weight).

Alternatively, the fish can be weighed on the weighbridge without using the industry-owned pierside device (Water in Nett Weight)., but this brought “greater challenges”.

O’Donnell said the debacle was “damaging to the reputation of quality Irish seafood and is losing business for our seafood exporters”.

“Ironically, Irish seafood processors are exhibiting at a Bord Bia 3-day International Seafood Show this week in Barcelona,” he said.

“International customers will be uneasy if there is a possibility of Irish fish quality being compromised by dewatering procedures or undue delays in the freezing of fish after catching,” he said.

O’Donnell said the latest incident with the MFV Lauren “led to the loss of two days weekend overtime work for 51 employees who had to be sent home”.

“The processing plants are a significant source of employment. They are the backbone of the economy for our coastal communities, who are frustrated and angry at how matters have unfolded since March,” O’Donnell said.

“ To secure supply and to compete internationally, we just need a common-sense approach and a level playing field in applying EU regulations,” he said.

“Regrettably, the blue whiting season is now ending, and the losses suffered by the industry and local coastal communities cannot be undone,” O’Donnell said.

“We have a modern pelagic fleet, and processing plants have invested in state-of-the-art weighing systems. These systems include live feed camera monitoring of in-house weighing, supported by 31-day back-ups,” he said.

“No other EU member state has implemented the level of control the SFPA is currently exercising,” he said.

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) says it will continue to engage with fishing industry representatives after an online meeting was held yesterday in relation to the row over fish landings.

The row erupted last month after Danish vessel Ruth headed back to Denmark instead of landing some 1200 tonnes of blue whiting for human consumption into Killybegs, Co Donegal on March 31st.

The SFPA had directed that the catch be landed over a weighbridge instead of a pierside system.

Since then, several Norwegian vessels have opted to land into Derry over the border, rather than into Killybegs - then trucking catches to south Donegal, while a number of vessels either abandoned attempts to land or sold catch destined for human consumption as fish meal.

The SFPA said in a statement that the interim fisheries control plan enables 95% of bulk landings of pelagic fish to avail of an exemption to weigh-after-transport, meaning that just 5% are subject to supervised weighing on landing.

The Danish fishing vessel MV Ruth, arrived to land 1,270 tonnes of blue whiting for local processing and export to Africa but left port with the fish still aboard

“Over the past five days, approximately 9,500 tonnes of bulk pelagic fish were landed at Killybegs harbour, totalling 20 landings. During this same period, one vessel chose to leave port and sail to Derry to discharge its catch,” it said.

The SFPA said the meeting discussed a number of items. This included “ two options for conducting weighing before transport currently available in Killybegs harbour for the 5% of landings which are selected for supervised weighing”.

The SFPA said it outlined in detail how, in both instances, fish are in water when weighed in order to preserve the quality of the catch.

SFPA executive chair Paschal Hayes said “as the regulator with responsibility for sea-fisheries and the seafood production sector, our role is to ensure that landings of fish in Ireland are in compliance with the EU Common Fisheries Policy to safeguard sustainable fishing stocks in Irish and European waters”.

SFPA executive chair Paschal Hayes

“The interim fisheries control plan agreed between Ireland and EU Commission in December 2021 enables 95% of bulk pelagic landings to be weighed in permitted fish processors, on the condition that 5% of landings – estimated at 30 landings annually – are weighed under supervision pierside,” he said.

“It is our intention to continue to meet the conditions agreed in Ireland’s control plan so that the entire industry can benefit of the exemptions on weighing after transport,” Hayes said.

As the row over inspection of fish landings continues, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) invited industry representatives to a virtual meeting on the issue.

Irish Fish Processors’ and Exporters’ Association (IFPEA) chief executive Brendan Byrne confirmed that an invitation to an online meeting today (April 13th) had been issued by the SFPA.

“However, there is no agenda – so I cannot say if this is an effort to resolve the issue,” Byrne said.

The row erupted after Danish vessel Ruth headed back to Denmark instead of landing some 1200 tonnes of blue whiting for human consumption into Killybegs, Co Donegal, on March 31st.

The SFPA had directed that the catch be landed over a weighbridge instead of a pierside system.

Since then, several Norwegian vessels have opted to land into Derry over the border, rather than into Killybegs - then trucking catches to south Donegal, while four other vessels abandoned attempts to land into the port, Byrne said.

“Three Irish vessels had to put their catches of blue whiting, destined for human consumption, to fish meal,” Byrne said.

He said it was “bizarre” and “defied all sense of proportion” and said that up to 300 workers were impacted over a three week period.

A survey of members by the IFPEA over five days found that 1773 workdays had been lost for seasonal workers and 239 households affected directly.

He said that the economy of southwest Donegal had taken a “massive hit” due to the changes in weighing procedures which he said had been “adopted overnight by the SFPA” in early March.

A stormy three-hour meeting was held on the issue in Killybegs on April 9th, attended by Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue.

On the eve of the Killybegs meeting, the SFPA issued a statement in which it said that under the terms of the interim fisheries control plan, as approved by the European Commission, only 5% of bulk landings of pelagic fish – an estimated 30 landings annually – are subject to a full inspection which includes supervising the weighing before transport of the catch.

“The other 95% of bulk landings of pelagic fish – an estimated 570 landings annually – can avail of the exemption of weighing of fishery products after transport in Ireland secured under the interim fisheries control plan,” the SFPA said.

“Several bulk pelagic vessels which docked in Killybegs harbour over the past week [ early April] availed of this exemption,” it said.

The SFPA said that to meet the requirements of the interim plan, operators may select one of two options for conducting this weighing before transport.

“To preserve the quality of the catch, fish are in water when weighed in both options. For absolute clarity, there is no requirement in either instance for the fish to be weighed dry,” it said.

The SFPA said that vessel masters and operators in Killybegs can avail of an industry-owned pierside device to separate water from fish as it exits the vessel before discharging directly into a tanker pre-filled with water which is then weighed on the weighbridge (Water in Tare Weight).

Alternatively, the fish can be weighed on the weighbridge without using the industry-owned pierside device (Water in Nett Weight), but this brought “greater challenge”.

The SFPA said this was one of the two options which was available to the master and operator of Norwegian vessel MFV Ingrid Majala at Killybegs.

“Having rejected this option in Killybegs, the master and operator of MFV Ingrid Majala chose to utilise this option after having sailed to Derry to unload,” it said.

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority has acknowledged that the Master of the Danish Fishing Vessel MV Ruth objected to the SFPA's process for weighing upon landing, at Killybegs in County Donegal on Thursday, March 31st.

In a statement, the Authority says: "The Master of the vessel and the operator were offered the use of an industry-owned water separator which would preserve the quality of the fish during the process. They opted not to avail of this and subsequently, the Master of the vessel chose to leave port. The SFPA intends to notify the relevant regulatory authority of the EU Member State in which this vessel is flagged of this interaction."

The SFPA has been under intensive criticism from the fishing industry because of its rigid imposition of EU regulations.

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) says a new control plan is expected to come into effect on May 1st.

This is subject to approval by the European Commission, which withdrew Ireland’s control plan for weighing fish catches a year ago due to lack of confidence in the Irish monitoring system.

The SFPA said a new control plan to enable the derogation of weighing of fishery products after transport in Ireland has now been submitted to the European Commission “with a view to achieving permanent approval”.

Once approval is secured, it would be adopted by Ireland and would come into force from May 1st, the authority said.

The SFPA said it “has been working intensively to move from interim arrangements to develop a fair and effective permanent control plan”.

It said the objective was an approved plan that “balances the requirements of the industry whilst also enabling meaningful control to manage real noncompliance risks”.

“The SFPA believes the control plan it has submitted addresses significant EU Commission concerns surrounding Ireland’s control measures and the risk of non-compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, particularly in pelagic bulk landings to Ireland which resulted in the Commission’s revoking of Ireland’s weighing-after-transport control plan in 2021,” it said.

The interim plan initiated from January 1st of this year is due to expire on April 30th, so there was a degree of urgency to ensure a permanent arrangement is in place.

The default provision of EU legislation is that all wild-caught fishery products have to be weighed immediately at transport by operators.

There is potential for a derogation to allow weighing to take place after transport but that requires EU commission approval of a plan to “manage compliance risks arising from that practice”.

Last year’s withdrawal of the plan followed an EU audit in 2018 of controls for Ireland’s pelagic fisheries in Killybegs, Co Donegal.

The 2018 audit had identified irregularities, including the alleged manipulation of weighing systems in some instances.

The SFPA said that these irregularities were “subsequently confirmed in an administrative inquiry” that it conducted.

The Irish industry had reacted angrily to the EU move, seeking sight of the audit which was refused. Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation chief executive Sean O’Donoghue said the European Commission was “playing the role of judge and jury, with the fishing industry being refused the basic right to establish what it might stand accused of”.

A fishing industry leader has questioned the reason for the sudden resignation of a member of the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA).

Tim Donovan stood down from the SFPA – the State’s seafood industry regulator - in early February after just over seven months in the post.

Mr Donovan had been assistant director of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), responsible for an area extending from Canada to North Carolina and including the US Great Lakes region.

He joined the SFPA in late June 2021, and was, for a time, the sole member of the SFPA until the appointment of Paschal Hayes as executive chair last December to succeed Dr Susan Steele.

Dr Steele was appointed executive director of the European Fisheries Control Agency in Spain last year.

SFPA staff have been taking industrial action since January over terms and conditions.

In a letter to colleagues, Mr Donovan said he understood this was a “difficult time” for the organisation.

He said he appreciated “the strain this announcement will cause to the organisation”, but he had decided to resign from his position as authority member in discussions with his family.

“The authority position is of great importance to this organisation and deserves a member fully dedicated to the mission and the energy to fulfil the strategic goals”.

“Unfortunately, at this time in my life, I no longer have that energy and the SFPA deserves a more engaged authority member”, he said.

“I have chosen retirement based on my US pension and to spend more quality time with my family in West Cork,” he wrote.

Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation (IS&WFPO) chief executive Patrick Murphy said there were “ questions” to be asked about what he described as a “surprise resignation” by Mr Donovan.

“We have an SFPA which is in the middle of an industrial dispute with its staff, and it is now back to one authority member with the resignation of Mr Donovan,” he said.

“This comes at a time when we have a Naval Service which is not fully equipped to monitor and police our waters,” Mr Murphy said.

Asked to comment on Mr Donovan’s resignation and whether this occurred after a meeting with a senior Department of Marine official, the department said that “the SFPA Authority member concerned tendered their resignation to the minister in accordance with the requirements of Section 47 (10) (a) of the Sea Fisheries Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006”.

Asked if the SFPA had the statutory authority to continue with just one authority member in place, both the SFPA and the department said this was permitted under Section 47 (1) of the SFPA Act (Sea Fisheries Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 ).

“Tim Donovan made an important contribution during his time with the SFPA. The SFPA acknowledges and thanks him for his work to promote and support sea-fisheries protection,” the SFPA said.

Both the SFPA and the department confirmed that an open competition to fill the vacancy would be advertised by the Public Appointments Service shortly.