The Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO) has called on the Government to seek a comprehensive review of Ireland’s position within the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), arguing that flexibility offered to Iceland should also be available to Irish fisheries.
The call follows Iceland’s rejection of a return to EU accession negotiations, frozen since 2013.
Ahead of the Icelandic vote, EU Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos had indicated there could be flexibility around CFP rules to accommodate Iceland’s fisheries and agriculture sectors.
IFPO chief executive Aodh O’Donnell said this contrasted with Ireland's position, where fishing representatives have repeatedly been told that established quota arrangements offer little scope for change.
‘CFP Is Not Working for Ireland’
“If the European Commission was ready to accept that the CFP cannot work for Iceland, then it must also acknowledge that the CFP is not working for Ireland,” O’Donnell said.
“Ireland is an island nation with one of Europe’s richest marine resources. Yet for decades we have seen our fishing opportunities diminish while others benefit from access to our waters.
“If Iceland’s position was strong enough to be taken seriously in Brussels, ours should be too.”
O’Donnell said Iceland had maintained its position on control of fisheries throughout the accession debate and argued that the EU’s willingness to contemplate concessions demonstrated that greater flexibility was possible.
He said Irish fishing communities had made similar arguments for years, particularly following Brexit-related quota losses, subsequent quota reductions and fleet decommissioning.
“Irish fishermen have spent years being told the CFP is fixed and quota shares cannot move, through Brexit-driven losses, further quota reductions, fleet decommissioning, and the EU’s failure to deliver on the long-standing Hague Preferences mechanism,” he said.
“That Brussels found flexibility for a country not yet inside the EU sits awkwardly against that record.”
Brexit Settlement Rebalancing Sought
The IFPO is calling on the Government to seek what it describes as equivalent derogations for Ireland, including a rebalancing of the Brexit fisheries settlement.
The organisation says Ireland contributed 40% of the total value of fish transferred to the UK under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
“Our fleet has endured repeated sacrifices in the name of European solidarity,” O’Donnell said.
“We cannot accept a situation where Ireland continues to absorb losses while a country outside the EU is offered protections that have never been extended to existing member states.”
The IFPO also wants a renewed effort to secure what it regards as a fairer Irish share of fisheries resources and greater national control, supported by more effective management of stocks in Irish waters.
It argues that if factors including geography, economic dependence on fisheries and marine resources could justify special arrangements for Iceland, Ireland should be entitled to make a similar case.
Mackerel Agreement
O’Donnell said the IFPO respected Iceland’s efforts to retain sovereignty over its natural resources, but also called for progress on the continuing dispute over shared mackerel stocks.
“We acknowledge and respect the steps taken by Iceland to maintain sovereignty and control over its natural resources,” he said.
“While the EU may have failed in this instance, it must now move urgently to secure Iceland’s cooperation in a comprehensive coastal sharing agreement for our shared mackerel stocks, and to address the longstanding practice of self-allocating inflated shares of this shared resource.”
O’Donnell said the Icelandic negotiations should prompt a wider examination of Ireland’s treatment under European fisheries policy.
“There cannot be one set of rules for a country outside the EU and another for Ireland,” he said.
“If Europe was prepared to recognise that the CFP does not fit Iceland, then it is time to recognise that it has also failed many Irish fishing communities.”
