Wind Energy Ireland (WEI) has said that the Government should give a commitment that commercial fishing will continue to be permitted within the boundaries of offshore wind farms.
The representative organisation for offshore renewable energy (ORE), made the call at a parliamentary committee hearing this week on planning issues relating to the proposed developments.
“There should be no effort to ban fishing from operational wind farms,”WEI director of external affairs Justin Moran told members of the Joint Oireachtas fisheries and maritime affairs committee.
“Fishing takes place within the boundaries of wind farms in Britain and there is no reason this cannot happen here,” he said in his opening statement.
“However, fishermen tell us they firmly believe that if wind farms are built the Government or some State agency will prevent fishing,” he said.
“It would be very helpful, and provide reassurance to the seafood industry, if the committee could encourage the Government to give a commitment on this matter,”Moran said.
Six projects – five in the Irish Sea - are before the planning authorities.
The Oireachtas (parliament) joint committee on fisheries and maritime affairs chaired by Sinn Féin TD Conor McGuinness invited WEI, along with the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) and the Seafood/ORE working group to the session on July 15th to discuss planning issues related to these and future projects.
“We recognise the importance of Ireland’s seafood industry to the country’s economy and food security, as well as its significance to the local economy and culture of our coastal communities,”Moran said.
“Over the last three years, representing our industry on the Seafood-ORE Working Group chaired by Captain Robert McCabe, we have heard at first hand the pressures facing the seafood industry,”he said.
We want to ensure that fishermen keep fishing and benefit from the opportunities which the development of offshore wind energy will provide,”he said.
A reassurance that commercial fishing will still be permitted is one of “three key asks” shared by the two industries, as in wind energy and seafood, Moran said.
“Irish fishermen should be permitted, where their vessels are suitable, to carry out guard duties on offshore renewable developments and support safety at sea,”he said.
“Fishermen in Britain and those registered in the north of Ireland can do this and get paid for it. Irish fishermen cannot,”he said, and this issue had been set out in more detail in a document drawn up by the Seafood/ORE working group.
“Thirdly, we want to work with the seafood industry to put in place a National Framework Agreement for cooperation payments,”Moran said.
A fair, transparent and evidence-based system is needed,”he told the committee.
“To put this in place, and to ensure it operates fairly, it is critical that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and its relevant agencies, have the resources they need to work with ourselves and the seafood industry to develop, produce and oversee such an agreement,”he said.
Capt Robert McCabe, chair of the Seafood/ORE working group said that establishment of key baseline data was one of its priorities.
“There is a lot of data available in relation to seafood activity and marine habitats in Irish waters. However, there are also significant data gaps and issues in relation to accessing and aggregating existing data,”he said.
“To properly understand the impact of activity over the coming years a comprehensive baseline data map will be required,”he said.
The Minister for Climate recently announced that a national DMAP would be prepared, with a deadline of 2027, and Capt McCabe, said that the “road map” for preparation of this had as yet to be confirmed.
“Clarity on this process would be a significant confidence building measure,”he said.
“While Marine Protected Areas (MPA) are not directly within the remit of the working group they will clearly impact on marine spatial planning and the maritime space available for seafood and ORE activity,”he said.
MARA chief executive Laura Brien told the committee that it has received 18 applications related to ORE and 14 have been determined.
“This includes a recent application from Eirgrid, the national electricity grid operator, to support the survey work required to connect the next DMAP area off the southeast coast,”she said.
The 18 applications include work to support changes to maritime area consents issued by MARA to support developers who are in phase one, such as licences for site investigation surveys, she noted.
The committee also heard that Ireland is unlikely to meet its 2030 targets and that Belfast is the only port on the island of Ireland suitable for constructing and developing a wind farm, while the Port of Cork is the most advanced in terms of planning.
