The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) says there was a "low level of non-compliance" by the Irish fishing industry last year.
Its annual report for 2021 records how it monitored over 47,000 landings of commercially caught sea fish, valued at over €435 million.
The report records that 1,345 vessel inspections were undertaken by SFPA officers last year, while 1,115 official control samples were taken.
The State regulator also says that a “significant operational plan was successfully activated to ensure regulatory alignment” following Britain’s departure from European Union.
As a result of Brexit, import controls undertaken by the SFPA rose from an annual average of 800 (pre-Brexit) to over 3,000, it says.
This rise was driven principally by pre-existing trade with Britain being reclassified as a “third country” outside the EU, it says.
The volume of catch certificates issued for export freight by the SFPA rose from approximately 200 to over 800 (with the UK accounting for 71%), while third-country landings (the majority originating in the UK) rose to over 600, it says.
A new port office for SFPA staff was opened in Greencastle, Donegal to “respond effectively and efficiently to the increased volume of activity”, it says.
The SFPA and the Naval Service, which works with the regulator as part of a service-level agreement, initiated 66 case files following the investigation of 95 incidents.
The SFPA says that a “low level of non-compliance reflects the adherence of the overwhelming majority of industry to the regulations and the robust inspection system in place to ensure compliance and detect non-compliance, where necessary”.
“The SFPA continued to deliver on its remit to ensure the enforcement of seafood safety law up to the point of retail. This included overseeing food safety compliance across 2,711 food business operators with 2,221 food safety inspections carried out,”it says.
The annual Shellfish Classification Sampling Programme oversaw the collection and analysis of over 1,500 shellfish samples from shellfish (bivalve mollusc) production areas - detecting out-of-range results in 52 areas (3.4% of the overall sampling).
“Ireland has a strong reputation for top quality seafood and an effective regulatory control system, promoting compliance with sea-fisheries and seafood safety law, underpins this,” SFPA executive chair Paschal Hayes said.
SFPA executive chair Paschal Hayes Photo: Andy Gibson
“2021 was a hugely challenging year for all in the sea-fisheries and seafood industry, including the SFPA,” he said.
“In particular, the control and compliance measures implemented to ensure regulatory alignment following the UK’s departure from the EU and the end of the Brexit transition period had a huge bearing on our activities,” he said.
He also identified as challenges “the revocation by the European Commission of Ireland’s sea-fisheries control plan in April 2021, due to ongoing concerns regarding the under-declaration of the amounts of fish landed in Ireland by operators”.
This was followed by the SFPA’s work to secure an interim control plan for both pelagic and demersal fishers, which “consumed significant amounts of the resources within the SFPA”, he says.
“While both of these events presented enormous operational and capacity challenges for the SFPA, a substantial programme of work was progressed and completed across all units of the regulator as part of its remit to maintain vibrant marine ecosystems and safeguard Ireland’s international reputation for safe, quality seafood,” he said.
“The launch of our new corporate strategy in 2021 was an extremely positive development for the organisation providing a clear roadmap to ensure that we continue to deliver on our regulatory remit in a highly effective and efficient manner,” he said.
He recorded progress in ensuring the organisation remained “agile, responsive and able to adapt quickly in a rapidly changing environment”.
“The work completed during 2021 is testament to the dedication, commitment and professionalism of SFPA staff in port offices across the country and in our headquarters in Clonakilty, who have worked tirelessly to fulfill our responsibilities as the competent regulatory authority tasked with safeguarding the sustainability of Ireland’s marine resources,” Hayes said.
The SFPA’s annual report is here
