Irish fishing representatives have called for a wider debate on the potential growth of seafood exports.
Three organisations have questioned why Ireland is not benefiting more from its own resource, and have appealed for “growth” in seafood to be “put on the agenda”.
The Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO), Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation (IS&WFPO) and Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association (IFPEA) noted that Irish seafood exports delivered less than 1 % growth over the last five years, whereas Norway, a non-EU member with a similar population, delivered seafood export growth of 25 % in the last year alone.
“In 2022, their seafood exports were worth €14bn, compared to just €0.674bn for Irish exports,”IFPO chief executive Aodh O’Donnell said.
“ They have succeeded where we have faltered, as they now export 20 times the value of Irish exports annually, with EU markets accounting for 43% of this,” he said.
“Our economy and coastal communities should benefit from the resource our waters represent. Instead, other EU and non-EU fleets are increasingly permitted to catch more fish in our waters than the Irish fleet,” he said.
“Yet the EU re-opens talks this week to consider Norway’s request to catch 450,000 tonnes of blue whiting. This is over nine times the size of Ireland’s quota. Furthermore, Norway is seeking to catch most of their blue whiting quota from our stocks in Irish waters,” O’Donnell said.
EU-Norway talks resumed this week after breaking down in December over a number of issues, including greater access to Irish waters for blue whiting.
“The EU must ensure fairness is central to any proposal to grant Norway greater access to Irish waters. Ireland cannot be expected to acquiesce to these new and additional requests for access unless we are offered a reciprocal arrangement,” O’Donnell said.
While other EU states seek access to Norway’s waters for cod stocks, it is “unthinkable, unjust and inequitable that everyone else should gain at Ireland’s expense,” he said.
“It’s time the EU acted positively to support the growth of Ireland’s seafood sector instead of constantly allocating us an unfair share of fishing quotas. Our quotas were decimated in 2021, dropping 15 % after the disastrous Brexit agreement,” he said.
“ Under this agreement, 40% of the EU quota transferred to the UK came from Ireland, far more than was taken from any other EU State. The national response to this has been to shrink the whitefish fleet by 30 % through a permanent decommissioning instead of seeking a fairer quota,” he said.
“Most of our stocks are in a healthy state. We need fair treatment and to steer a new course if our seafood sector is to survive and grow, like Norway’s,” he said.
IFPEA chief executive Brendan Byrne said the Government “must maintain the position that any new access for Norway to our fishing grounds must be treated separately from the existing EU-Norway historical agreement”.
“To cede any part of Ireland’s traditional fishing grounds requires a separate arrangement by the EU which compensates us for any displacement,” he said.
IS&WFPO chief executive Patrick Murphy said that if Norway is seeking access to any part, however small or large, of Ireland’s fishing grounds south of 56 degrees or east of 12 degrees, then “this is a new request”.
“Ireland must not allow pieces of these fishing grounds to be ceded away in a piecemeal fashion,” he said.
“ A firm position must be taken until a clear arrangement is reached which benefits Ireland as much as Norway. Ireland must no longer attend the table as a perpetual loser; we must be prepared to walk away and refuse to countenance any additional unfair deal with a non-EU member,” Murphy said.