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Commercial Fishing News from Ireland
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Waterford’s local authority has removed a long-abandoned trawler that had become a magnet for fly-tipping and vermin at a scenic pier, as the Irish Examiner reports. The fishing vessel was once part of a fleet of ‘50-footers’ promoted by Bord…
Arthur Reynolds pictured at The Skipper Expo in Galway in 2014
Marine journalist and sailor Arthur Reynolds has passed away peacefully in Blackrock, Co Dublin, in his 94th year. Reynolds, founding Editor/Publisher of The Irish Skipper and publisher in the mid-1970s of Ireland Afloat, was a lifetime sub-editor and a former night…
Caroline Bocquel is the new Chief Executive Officer of Bord Iascaigh Mhara
BIM’s new chief executive Caroline Bocquel has warned the offshore renewable energy (ORE) sector that it must improve its communication with the Irish fishing industry. She has also told offshore wind developers that there should be “minimal impact” on the…
John Lynch of the Irish South & East Fish Producers Organisation with Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue at the official naming of The Fishing Pier at Howth in north Co Dublin
Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue today (Thursday 2 March) officially named the new €10m ‘Fishing Pier’ at Howth Fishery Harbour Centre, one of the six State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres. The works comprised the construction of 134 metres of new quay wall,…
Reaching more than 2.5 metres in length, the Flapper Skate (Dipturus intermedius) is one of the largest skate species in the world. Due to overexploitation in fisheries and habitat degradation, the Fapper Skate has been in decline for decades
Protection and management of the endangered skate is the focus of a conference in Galway this week involving international specialists. The Flapper Skate and Blue Skate are at risk and have been prohibited from commercial fishing for almost 15 years,…
The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has reminded Irish seafood exporters that consignments of fish and shellfish sold to third countries require an export health certificate. The SFPA issues certificates, the competent authority under Irish and European legislation, for fishery products…
Ireland is to develop nature-based solutions in coastal areas to protect biodiversity, improve resilience to climate change and reduce the impact of pollution under a new programme of measures for the marine environment
Ireland is to develop nature-based solutions in coastal areas to protect biodiversity, improve resilience to climate change and reduce the impact of pollution under a new programme of measures for the marine environment Ireland’s plan to maintain or achieve “good…
The new Ros an Mhíl development will be accessible to large vessels such as Naval Service vessels, Marine Institute research vessels, marine survey vessels and marine leisure craft
On Friday (24 February) Marine Minster Charlie McConalogue visited the site of the new deep-water quay development under construction at the State-owned Fishery Harbour Centre in Ros an Mhíl, Co Galway. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the new development will…
Minister for Marine Charlie McConalogue
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…
Wild-caught mackerel are among the Irish seafood that has been shown to have very low carbon emissions according to a first-of-its-kind study for the Irish seafood sector under the Government Climate Action Plan to provide a baseline for the Irish seafood industry
A new study by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) - the State agency that supports development of the seafood sector in Ireland - has found that Irish-produced seafood is among the lowest carbon food produced in Ireland. This study provides the…
Small scale French fishing vessels
Two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have dubbed the European Commission’s action plans for biodiversity and climate change in ocean and fisheries as “inaction plans”. NGOs Birdwatch Ireland and Our Fish were responding to the European Commission’s publication of four EU action…
EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius
EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius say the EU wants to establish a “pact for fisheries and oceans” to ensure sustainable fisheries, protect and restore marine ecosystems and strengthen long-term food security. The Commissioner was commenting as the European Commission…
The second annual Seafarers’ Conference with the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) at the Castletroy Park, Hotel, also on February 23rd
Three national marine events take place in Limerick next week, involving offshore wind energy, aquaculture and the fishing industry. On the eve of the Irish Skipper Expo at the University of Limerick (UL), IFA Aquaculture is hosting its annual conference…
Ballycotton RNLI relief lifeboat
An 18 metre fishing boat that suffered propeller failure 27 miles south of Ballycotton yesterday (Wednesday, 15 February) was brought to safety by a lifeboat crew from Ballycotton RNLI. Ballycotton RNLI Lifeboat The Douglas Aikman Smith was requested to launch…
Senator Victor Boyhan says serious questions have to be asked and answered about the corporate governance and oversight of the IFI
Senator Victor Boyhan has called for Minister Eamon Ryan to make a Statement on the Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) 'Organisation in Crisis.' Speaking in the Seanad this morning Senator Victor Boyhan said serious questions have to be asked and answered…
The patrol ship LÉ Samuel Beckett detained the German-registered Spanish vessel on February 7th
A European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) surveillance aircraft was involved in the recent detention of a German-registered Spanish vessel in the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ). In a joint statement, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and Naval Service said…

Irish Fishing industry 

The Irish Commercial Fishing Industry employs around 11,000 people in fishing, processing and ancillary services such as sales and marketing. The industry is worth about €1.22 billion annually to the Irish economy. Irish fisheries products are exported all over the world as far as Africa, Japan and China.

FAQs

Over 16,000 people are employed directly or indirectly around the coast, working on over 2,000 registered fishing vessels, in over 160 seafood processing businesses and in 278 aquaculture production units, according to the State's sea fisheries development body Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

All activities that are concerned with growing, catching, processing or transporting fish are part of the commercial fishing industry, the development of which is overseen by BIM. Recreational fishing, as in angling at sea or inland, is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The Irish fishing industry is valued at 1.22 billion euro in gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2019 figures issued by BIM. Only 179 of Ireland's 2,000 vessels are over 18 metres in length. Where does Irish commercially caught fish come from? Irish fish and shellfish is caught or cultivated within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Irish fishing grounds are part of the common EU "blue" pond. Commercial fishing is regulated under the terms of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983 and with ten-yearly reviews.

The total value of seafood landed into Irish ports was 424 million euro in 2019, according to BIM. High value landings identified in 2019 were haddock, hake, monkfish and megrim. Irish vessels also land into foreign ports, while non-Irish vessels land into Irish ports, principally Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Killybegs, Co Donegal.

There are a number of different methods for catching fish, with technological advances meaning skippers have detailed real time information at their disposal. Fisheries are classified as inshore, midwater, pelagic or deep water. Inshore targets species close to shore and in depths of up to 200 metres, and may include trawling and gillnetting and long-lining. Trawling is regarded as "active", while "passive" or less environmentally harmful fishing methods include use of gill nets, long lines, traps and pots. Pelagic fisheries focus on species which swim close to the surface and up to depths of 200 metres, including migratory mackerel, and tuna, and methods for catching include pair trawling, purse seining, trolling and longlining. Midwater fisheries target species at depths of around 200 metres, using trawling, longlining and jigging. Deepwater fisheries mainly use trawling for species which are found at depths of over 600 metres.

There are several segments for different catching methods in the registered Irish fleet – the largest segment being polyvalent or multi-purpose vessels using several types of gear which may be active and passive. The polyvalent segment ranges from small inshore vessels engaged in netting and potting to medium and larger vessels targeting whitefish, pelagic (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting) species and bivalve molluscs. The refrigerated seawater (RSW) pelagic segment is engaged mainly in fishing for herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting only. The beam trawling segment focuses on flatfish such as sole and plaice. The aquaculture segment is exclusively for managing, developing and servicing fish farming areas and can collect spat from wild mussel stocks.

The top 20 species landed by value in 2019 were mackerel (78 million euro); Dublin Bay prawn (59 million euro); horse mackerel (17 million euro); monkfish (17 million euro); brown crab (16 million euro); hake (11 million euro); blue whiting (10 million euro); megrim (10 million euro); haddock (9 million euro); tuna (7 million euro); scallop (6 million euro); whelk (5 million euro); whiting (4 million euro); sprat (3 million euro); herring (3 million euro); lobster (2 million euro); turbot (2 million euro); cod (2 million euro); boarfish (2 million euro).

Ireland has approximately 220 million acres of marine territory, rich in marine biodiversity. A marine biodiversity scheme under Ireland's operational programme, which is co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Government, aims to reduce the impact of fisheries and aquaculture on the marine environment, including avoidance and reduction of unwanted catch.

EU fisheries ministers hold an annual pre-Christmas council in Brussels to decide on total allowable catches and quotas for the following year. This is based on advice from scientific bodies such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. In Ireland's case, the State's Marine Institute publishes an annual "stock book" which provides the most up to date stock status and scientific advice on over 60 fish stocks exploited by the Irish fleet. Total allowable catches are supplemented by various technical measures to control effort, such as the size of net mesh for various species.

The west Cork harbour of Castletownbere is Ireland's biggest whitefish port. Killybegs, Co Donegal is the most important port for pelagic (herring, mackerel, blue whiting) landings. Fish are also landed into Dingle, Co Kerry, Rossaveal, Co Galway, Howth, Co Dublin and Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Union Hall, Co Cork, Greencastle, Co Donegal, and Clogherhead, Co Louth. The busiest Northern Irish ports are Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel, Co Down.

Yes, EU quotas are allocated to other fleets within the Irish EEZ, and Ireland has long been a transhipment point for fish caught by the Spanish whitefish fleet in particular. Dingle, Co Kerry has seen an increase in foreign landings, as has Castletownbere. The west Cork port recorded foreign landings of 36 million euro or 48 per cent in 2019, and has long been nicknamed the "peseta" port, due to the presence of Spanish-owned transhipment plant, Eiranova, on Dinish island.

Most fish and shellfish caught or cultivated in Irish waters is for the export market, and this was hit hard from the early stages of this year's Covid-19 pandemic. The EU, Asia and Britain are the main export markets, while the middle Eastern market is also developing and the African market has seen a fall in value and volume, according to figures for 2019 issued by BIM.

Fish was once a penitential food, eaten for religious reasons every Friday. BIM has worked hard over several decades to develop its appeal. Ireland is not like Spain – our land is too good to transform us into a nation of fish eaters, but the obvious health benefits are seeing a growth in demand. Seafood retail sales rose by one per cent in 2019 to 300 million euro. Salmon and cod remain the most popular species, while BIM reports an increase in sales of haddock, trout and the pangasius or freshwater catfish which is cultivated primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia and imported by supermarkets here.

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983, pooled marine resources – with Ireland having some of the richest grounds and one of the largest sea areas at the time, but only receiving four per cent of allocated catch by a quota system. A system known as the "Hague Preferences" did recognise the need to safeguard the particular needs of regions where local populations are especially dependent on fisheries and related activities. The State's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, works with the Naval Service on administering the EU CFP. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and Department of Transport regulate licensing and training requirements, while the Marine Survey Office is responsible for the implementation of all national and international legislation in relation to safety of shipping and the prevention of pollution.

Yes, a range of certificates of competency are required for skippers and crew. Training is the remit of BIM, which runs two national fisheries colleges at Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork. There have been calls for the colleges to be incorporated into the third-level structure of education, with qualifications recognised as such.

Safety is always an issue, in spite of technological improvements, as fishing is a hazardous occupation and climate change is having its impact on the severity of storms at sea. Fishing skippers and crews are required to hold a number of certificates of competency, including safety and navigation, and wearing of personal flotation devices is a legal requirement. Accidents come under the remit of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, and the Health and Safety Authority. The MCIB does not find fault or blame, but will make recommendations to the Minister for Transport to avoid a recurrence of incidents.

Fish are part of a marine ecosystem and an integral part of the marine food web. Changing climate is having a negative impact on the health of the oceans, and there have been more frequent reports of warmer water species being caught further and further north in Irish waters.

Brexit, Covid 19, EU policies and safety – Britain is a key market for Irish seafood, and 38 per cent of the Irish catch is taken from the waters around its coast. Ireland's top two species – mackerel and prawns - are 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, dependent on British waters. Also, there are serious fears within the Irish industry about the impact of EU vessels, should they be expelled from British waters, opting to focus even more efforts on Ireland's rich marine resource. Covid-19 has forced closure of international seafood markets, with high value fish sold to restaurants taking a large hit. A temporary tie-up support scheme for whitefish vessels introduced for the summer of 2020 was condemned by industry organisations as "designed to fail".

Sources: Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Marine Institute, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Department of Transport © Afloat 2020