Irish lobster fishermen are warning that they face a “wipe-out” as a result of an EU-US trade deal negotiated by former Irish commissioner Phil Hogan.
As The Sunday Independent reports, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine says Ireland is “still considering” the full implications of the “mini-deal”.
It has been welcomed as “mutually beneficial” by Mr Hogan and US President Donald Trump’s trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer.
The deal was concluded on August 21st – two days after Mr Hogan attended the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Clifden, Co Galway, which led to his resignation late this week.
Under the terms, the EU has agreed to eliminate tariffs on imports of US live and frozen lobster for five years, in return for halving of tariffs imposed by the US on certain EU products, including ready meals and crystal glassware,
. The US exported more than $111m worth of lobster to the EU in 2017, with much of that coming from the state of Maine which has been a battleground for Republicans and Democrats.
US President Donald Trump approved aid for US lobster skippers in June, and threatened to increase tariffs on European cars if the EU did not drop tariffs imposed on lobster imports.
The National Inshore Fishermen’s Association (NIFA) has condemned the deal, saying it will have a serious impact on prices for an Irish export-led fishery which has been the last mainstay of the inshore fleet.
Co Clare lobster fisherman Patsy Mullins, who is one of over 40 members of the Galway Bay Inshore Fisherman’s Association, said cheaper US imports would further force down the price of Ireland’s “blue lobsters”, exported mainly to France.
The French market for Irish-caught lobster is valued at 14 million -15 million euro annually, according to Bord Bia.
Fresh lobster can sell at a Christmas peak of around 32 euro a kilo to around 25 euro a kilo over Easter and a minimum of 14 euro a kilo.
However, prices fell to 12 euro a kilo after the COVID-19-related restrictions closed restaurants, upended supply chains and international markets for fresh seafood.
“Decent prices allow boats to fish less, and is better for stocks,” Mr Mullins explained.
“This deal flies in the face of our sustainable aims,” he said. “We have signed up to a V-notch programme for lobsters – a management measure designed to protect lobsters’ reproductive potential - since 1994,” he said.
“The 800 boats left in the inshore sector have been hard hit over the years, but lobster fishing has kept money coming into peripheral areas where there are few employment alternatives,” Mr Mullins said.
Bord Bia’s European seafood and French market manager Finnian O’Luasa said that the US - Canada lobster is “not the same species”, and the European lobster “is far more appreciated in the European market” and fetches a higher price.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine said it “continues to monitor the impact of Covid-19 on key destinations for Irish food exports and to work with all sectors, within the regulatory framework, to develop responsive measures”.
Read the Sunday Independent report here