Two State agencies have now used the same word - 'Challenging' - to describe how the Irish fishing industry fared last year.
These agencies have used a relatively 'soft' word in comparison to major representative organisations who describe 2023 and the resultant situation of the industry as "disastrous."
Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) is the latest agency to issue its 2023 report - the 'Business of Seafood' normally published earlier in the year. It has been released in the middle of the primary agricultural show, the National Ploughing Championships, at a time when farming and farmers dominate media attention.
That timing and the commonality of opinion between BIM, responsible for developing the seafood Industry and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, (SFPA) State regulator of sea fisheries and the seafood sector, is striking.
The SFPA's "Protecting Seafood Trade Report 2023" recorded a decrease in Irish fish exports to 49,782 tonnes from 78,171in 2022. It showed that the total value of landings was nearly €396 million, but digging down into those figures, industry representative organisations claimed that, overall, the industry had suffered a fall of €37m. in the value of landings.
BIM's Report, also describing 2023 as a "challenging year," says there was "a 2.9% decline in GDP from 2022 to a total value of €1.2 billion."
The Government now has two of its State agencies recording "challenging" times for the industry, as well as the major producer and exporter organisations warning that it is in a "downward trajectory."
BIM's Report says almost 15,673 adults work, directly and indirectly, in Ireland's seafood industry. "The impacts from Brexit continue to challenge the industry by limiting access to fishing opportunities and disrupting trade flows and market access. The sector also faced challenges from the cost-of-living crisis and high inflation, further affecting the economic environment. Access to raw materials, particularly for pelagic processing, remained a critical issue resulting in a 10% decrease in exports of key Irish seafood products, with the most pronounced reductions in blue whiting, crab and Irish organic salmon. In response, there was an unprecedented level of Government investment in the industry, demonstrating strong commitment to future growth and sustainability of the sector. Combined with EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve funding, this helped the sector achieve significant growth of 12%, bringing the total value to over €1.4 billion, despite the initial decline of 2.9% in GDP from 2022."
BIM records that consumption of seafood in 2023 increased by 9% to €515 million: "The sale value of salmon grew by 9% to €130 million and the seafood service sector grew by 13% to €189 million, just 3% off its peak in 2019. Food service operator purchases of seafood increased by 14%."
Acknowledging that the seafood industry has a vital role in "the sustainable, social and economic viability of rural coastal communities," Minister for the Marine Charlie McConalogue, says: "The Government's unprecedented level of investment demonstrates its commitment to supporting the industry." He has acknowledged that it has significant challenges: "There has been a very serious impact across all sectors of our seafood industry. There's no doubt it has impacted morale in a way that has not been seen before."
Following 'challenging' reports by two State agencies, what now is the future for the Irish fishing industry?
