Inshore fishing vessel owners were granted investments of €6,658,032 since last year under two EU-funded schemes.
Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) says the grants were approved under the Sustainable Fisheries, Small Scale Coastal Fishers and Inshore Fleet Economic Assessment schemes.
These schemes are implemented under Ireland’s Seafood Development Programme, which is jointly funded by the Irish government and the EU under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), it says.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said the money helped to purchase “cutting-edge technologies driving down costs”.
These technologies ranged from solar powered on-shore live holding tanks, integrated on-board systems such as fish washing and gutting equipment to refrigerated vans transporting catch from vessel to market, he said.
Minister of State with responsibility for Fisheries Timmy Dooley said at The Skipper Expo in Limerick that the schemes help vessels to “be more productive and sustainable”and “to add value to and improve the quality of their catch”.
“The high rate and types of investments being made by the fishing sector under Ireland's Seafood Development Programme to date, demonstrate a strong focus on the whole seafood value chain from catch to market,”Dooley said.
BIM chief executive Caroline Bocquel said that “innovation is key to the fishing sector’s ability to remain competitive against a backdrop of multiple challenges including high energy and trading costs, inflation and geo-political instability”.
“By improving the quality of their catch and adding value to it, fishers are opening up new market opportunities. These transformative investments are helping to secure the future of the Irish seafood sector,”she said.
It was also announced that BIM’s successful lobster v-notching scheme will reopen on April 1st, 2025, with EMFAF support.
“Last year, 225 fishers in some 80 locations were awarded a total of €568,000 in grant aid as part of the v-notching scheme,” Bocquel said.
“This resulted in more than 47,000 adult lobsters being safely returned to the sea – the highest number on record.
“This important conservation work is carried out by trained BIM regional officers with v-notched lobsters returned to the sea to breed at nearly 80 locations around the coast. These lobsters will produce over 352 million lobster larvae to maintain the population in their first year after v-notching,”she said.
New resources designed to help fishers develop their businesses and access supports were also unveiled by BIM.
The two resources - entitled Getting more for your catch – Guide to food safety and direct sales, supported by EMFAF funding and Supports for Ireland’s Fisheries Sector - are available as printed booklets.
“As the catching sector continues to deal with significant challenges, BIM’s key focus is supporting fishers to navigate and adapt to these changes,” Bocquel said.
“There are many opportunities for fishers to develop their businesses and to do more with their catch, opening up new opportunities to generate more income. The Getting more for your catch guide provides information on food safety and legal requirements need to sell direct to market,”she said
Both guides are available on www.bim.ie
