Whale sightings have declined in the south-west, but numbers are up off Donegal and Mayo as they move north after their preferred prey, seeking cooler waters, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) says.
However, the issue over fishing for sprat is “coming to a head”, the group says, urging Minister of State for Fisheries Timmy Dooley to “be bold” and “ambitious”.
“This could be your legacy”, the IWDG says in a post on its website, which recalls the decision currently facing the junior minister over management of the inshore fishery.
The IWDG post outlines the key issues in the light of last week’s announcement by whale watching skipper Colin Barnes that he was quitting.
As Afloat reported last week, Barnes announced he was closing his business after over years due to lack of whales, blaming “a small number of greedy fishermen with huge trawlers” for overfishing their essential forage food, sprat, to “near extinction”.
A group named “Save Our Sprat” also recently held its first meeting in Bantry, Co Cork.
The Marine Institute’s acoustic survey for sprat in the Celtic Sea and the south Irish Sea last October showed no collapse in the abundance of sprat, and no evidence of it moving north, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.
Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation chief executive Patrick Murphy has said warming waters appeared to be pushing sprat further west and north – where sprat catches have risen.
“We are asking for a proper scientific assessment for this species, so a proper management policy can be developed to ensure the continued sustainability of this important fishery,” he had said.
Minister Dooley is dealing with 5,500 submissions into a review of trawling activity inside six nautical miles, and a decision is said to be “imminent”.
As the IWDG post recalls, Dooley has four options:
- business as usual
- a ban on all pair trawling
- a ban on all trawling by vessels over 15m in length
- a ban on all trawling by vessels over 18m.
“The IWDG, in its latest submission, chose the option preventing vessels over 18m from trawling inside 6nml on the basis of maximising the environmental benefit while balancing fairness to the fishing fleet (see https://iwdg.ie/fishing-inside-6nm-consultation).
“However, we have also advocated for a moratorium on all sprat fishing in our coastal waters,”it says, pointing out there is no management plan for sprat (or any forage fish in Irish waters such as sand eels) and no quota is allocated to them.
“Without a detailed understanding of the stock, precautionary advice by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommends an annual catch of sprat not exceeding 2,240 tonnes,”it notes.
“However landings for the past few years have been many times that figure. A moratorium should be considered to enable the Marine Institute to collect and process the appropriate data to support a sustainable quota,”it says.
In a response this week, DAFM said that “the Programme for Government commits to maintaining support for our important inshore fishing sector and promoting the sustainability of fish stocks”.
“In December 2018, a transition period to a ban on vessels over 18 metres trawling in inshore waters, inside the six nautical mile zone and the baselines was announced. A significant part of the objective of this measure was to manage the fishing effort on sprat stocks which are primarily targeted within inshore waters. This measure, however, was the subject of extended legal proceedings resulting in the measure being overturned in 2023,”it says.
“In February 2024, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine held a new public consultation on a review of trawling activity inside the six nautical mile zone and the baselines. This consultation took place without prejudice,”the department says.
“Over 5,500 submissions were received. These submissions, along with updated scientific and economic advice from the Marine Institute and Bord Iascaigh Mhara are being used to inform a review of trawling activity inside the six nautical mile zone and baselines. All relevant issues will be carefully considered before a decision is made,”it says.
Read the full IWDG post here
