Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue has refused to be drawn on calls for the State to take specific measures to ensure a route for young entrants into the fishing industry to buy vessels in the future.
Interviewed by journalists at The Skipper Expo in the University of Limerick (UL) this weekend, Mr McConalogue also said he still believed commercial fishing was a “dynamic sector” in spite of the latest challenges posed by Brexit, which resulted in considerable loss of national fish quota.
The Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation (IFPO) has called on the State to reserve some tonnage from vessels which are accepted for the national decommissioning scheme – introduced in response to the loss of quota due to Brexit.
Keeping a “bank” of tonnage in State hands would allow for new entrants to build vessels in the future, the IFPO has said.
Asked about this, Mr McConalogue would not comment specifically beyond reiterating that the decommissioning scheme was a seafood taskforce recommendation supported by the fishing industry organisations.
Scrapping up to 60 boats would allow for more quota for those remaining, after loss of quota due to Brexit, he said.
Speaking earlier to Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show, Mr McConalogue said that though he came from a farming background, he was at school with people from the fishing community and he would do everything he possibly could to support the sector.
“We have seen stocks become depleted because of overfishing generally...so we have been moving to a situation where we apply sustainability at all levels to how we fish,”he said.
He said he was also working to ensure the best outcome in relation to Norway’s bid to secure more blue whiting off the Irish coast.
He said there were opportunities in offshore energy, and there would be “jobs for those who have expertise at sea”.
Mr McConalogue said that a new sustainable fisheries scheme would ensure that use of sustainable catching gear and fuel efficiency measures would be eligible for capital grants.
Listen to the full interview with Mr McConalogue on The Pat Kenny Show here