The newly-formed ‘Seafood Ireland Alliance’ by the Irish fishing industry catching and processing sectors wants a Minister for the Marine appointed, a post and Department which were abolished by the Government several years ago.

But the fishing industry is in such a bad way these days that drastic measures are needed, though the Government’s senior politicians have not shown urgency into what has been described by the Alliance as “an industry in freefall.”

As Afloat reported earlier, Irish fishing leaders were in Brussels to seek MEP’s support on the changes needed to prevent the collapse of their industry. This should be an interesting sessions, considering that Ireland’s 14 MEPs failed to get any of their number elected to the important European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee.

But Brussels is the heart of where decisions about the fishing industry are made and there is a feeling amongst the CEOs of the Irish representative organisations that they are not getting enough communication from the heart of decision-making, as Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation, Patrick Murphy says: Our presence in Brussels at fisheries negotiations is limited and our input into key policy documents is largely ignored. The information flow from Europe on fisheries issues compared to other Member States, such as the Netherlands and Denmark is minimal. Our industry is forced to rely on its own sources for information and quite often is ‘in the dark’ on the progression on legislative proposals and the state of negotiations.

“We want the Government to appoint a dedicated Minister of State for the Marine. We also want an integrated hub and point of contact at the heart of Europe in Brussels to act as a conduit for information between the administrative officials and the industry. “

They intend to meet the Irish MEPs.

“We will talk to MEPs about the urgent need to implement the recommendations in the last CFP Report. We need to place the Irish fishing industry back onto a level playing field with our European partners, after the disastrous Brexit outcome for our sector,” according to John Lynch, CEO of the Irish South and East FPO.

Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation CEO Dominic Rihan says they will present a “position paper on the Irish fishing industry's key challenges. It’s time our share of EU quotas reflected our 12% share of the waters.”

The future viability of the fishing and seafood industries is under serious threat, according to Aodh O Donnell of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO), while Brendan Byrne for the Processors and Exporters Association says 2024 is set to be “the worst year in the history of Irish fish processing. This reflects extremely poorly on EU policy and on the overall unfairness of the CFP towards Ireland.”

In a joint statement, the organisations before tomorrow’s meeting, the Seafood Alliance says. “We are witnessing adverse impacts across the board, from inshore boats to the largest vessels, targeting pelagic species such as mackerel and herring. This includes the entire onshore fish processing sector which has suffered huge losses in turnover.Unless immediate action is taken, there are fears of widespread business closures and that many Irish fishermen will permanently leave the industry. Meanwhile, non-EU members such as Norway, persistently overfish our shared migratory stocks of mackerel.”

Marine Minister Charlie McConalogue TD secured a budget allocation of €177 million for 2025 to support the seafood sector.

Minister McConalogue is confident that this will enable the acceleration of measures being funded under the Seafood Development Programme, continue vital investment in the Fishery Harbour Centres and provide necessary funding to the marine agencies whose activities support the fishing and seafood sector.

“My Department's Seafood Development Programme is co-funded by Ireland and the EU. It is the primary funding package to support the commercial seafood sector, with an overall funding package of €258 million over the lifetime of the programme.

The announcement was made when the Irish Seafood Alliance issued a warning over the dire state of industry in Brussels.

The programme supports the provision of a wide range of financial supports to fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing enterprises and to enterprises, groups and individuals in coastal communities, including supports for capital investment, innovation, professional advisory services and marketing.”

Commenting on Budget 2025 Minister McConalogue said: “I welcome the €177 million funding allocation in today’s budget. This allocation provides a range of supports for the seafood sector in 2025." Including:

• The Inshore Fleet Economic Assessment Scheme: participants in this scheme, running into 2025, will receive payments of between €3,500 and €5,000, depending on vessel length.
• The Inshore Fisheries Scheme: This scheme provides targeted supports for the small-scale coastal fishing vessels, which are registered fishing vessels under 12 metres in length who do not use towed gear. Enhanced grant intensity rates of between 80% and 100% are provided to these vessels to support both on-board and on-shore investment, and for participation in conservation measures.
  A related lobster V-notching Scheme continues the good work done under previous V-notching schemes to improve the sustainability of this fishery, which is of significant importance to the inshore fishing fleet in particular.
• The Sustainable Fisheries Scheme provides support to all registered fishing vessels (other than the small scale coastal fishing vessels) for on-board investment. Both the Inshore Fisheries Scheme and the Sustainable Fisheries Scheme support investment by fishing vessels in more selective gear that reduces catches of juvenile and/or over quota species, with the ultimate aim of improving the sustainability of fisheries.
• The Seafood Processing Capital Investment Scheme provides important support for capital investment in the seafood processing sector. It will continue and build on the supports provided to the sector over the course of 2022 and 2023 under the Brexit Processing Capital Support Scheme, funded under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), where industry received over €30 million in funding for capital investment in this sector.
• The Aquaculture Capital Investment Scheme provides support to aquaculture operators for capital investment to promote environmentally sustainable aquaculture activities and strengthen the competitiveness of aquaculture production.
• The Seafood Training Scheme supports the development of skills and knowledge across the Fisheries, Aquaculture and Seafood Processing sectors.
• The Young Fishers Scheme provides support to persons under 40, who have 5 years+ experience and/or relevant training, to assist them in purchasing their first vessel. Grant aid up to 40% of the cost of the vessel can be accessed under this scheme, subject to a maximum payment of €250,000. There are some restrictions regarding the age and length of vessels which may be purchased under this scheme.
• Concluding, the Minister added; “I am confident that these schemes will provide very necessary support to the seafood sector and future schemes in 2025 will include schemes to support the Producer Organisations, community-lead local development via the Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs) and a seafood innovation scheme.”

Scientific advice on a 22 per cent cut in the total allowable catch (TAC) for mackerel has prompted the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) to call for action on Nordic countries setting unilateral quotas.

The advice for 2025 has been issued by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) due to what it says is a steep decline in the stock biomass.

The KFO notes that the size of the stock has fallen while fishing effort in northern waters on larger and older fish has increased exponentially, particularly in the summer months when traditionally little fishing occurred.

KFO chief executive Dominic Rihan said that “the blame for the dire state of the stock lies firmly with the Nordic countries that have set unilateral quotas in the last number of years and massively increased fishing effort to try and justify these inflated quotas”.

“Compare this to EU fishermen who have fished sustainably within their quotas. The result is clear for all to see, the stock is close to collapse,”he says.

The KFO says that “to catch these unwarranted unilateral quotas, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Russia and this year even Norway fished mackerel in international waters during the summer, when the fish are in poor condition after spawning”.

In 2023, significant proportions of these mackerel catches were turned into fishmeal in Norway due to their poor quality, the KFO says.

It says that “this is against all principles of sustainability and has had a long-lasting and damaging effect on the mackerel stock”.

“Large increases in fishing effort by the Russian Federation, leading to significant unreported and unregulated catches has added to the decline in the stock,”it says.

KFO chair Ciaran Doherty said that “what is going on in Norwegian and International waters with intensive fishing for small catches of low-quality mackerel defies logic. This is all about creating spurious zonal attachment arguments to justify overfishing in the extreme. The damage they have done to the stock is now clear to see”.

The scientific advice will be discussed by the Coastal States group of EU, UK, Norway, Faroes, Iceland and Greenland, that meet annually under the auspices of the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC).

The negotiations in October are expected to be contentious considering the stark scientific advice and agreeing on a TAC level that provides protection to the stock will be challenging, the KFO says.

“ For Irish fishermen any cut in quota for 2025 will have a disastrous impact, coming on the back of Brexit. Contrast to the Nordics, who, by inflating their quotas over the last few years, have already built in a buffer to protect themselves from such reductions.

Rihan said that it is “vital that the Minister for the Marine and the EU calls out the inexcusable and irresponsible actions of the Nordic countries and take action to halt the decline in the stock before it collapses”.

“Words alone will not put mackerel back into the sea, the EU must act to protect the interests of Irish and EU fishermen who have acted responsibly and fished within their quotas. The EU needs to act decisively and negotiate an equitable comprehensive agreement with all coastal states that reflects historic fishing patterns and gives the stock a chance to recover,”Rihan added.

Irish fishing leaders travelled to Brussels today (Tues Oct 1) to seek MEPs support on the changes needed to prevent the collapse of their industry.

The leaders have formed a new alliance, the Seafood Ireland group, to collaborate on a way forward together.

The alliance notes that landings by Irish vessels fell by a “staggering” €37m last year, compared to 2022, according to figures from the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA).

Statistics from Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) in its recent Business of Seafood report show a similarly bleak picture with gross profit of the fishing fleet down by a massive 82% in 2023.

Aodh O Donnell of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO) says the future viability of the fishing and seafood industries are under serious threat.

“We are witnessing adverse impacts across the board, from inshore boats to the largest vessels, targeting pelagic species such as mackerel and herring. This includes the entire onshore fish processing sector which has suffered huge losses in turnover.”

“Unless immediate action is taken, there are fears of widespread business closures and that many Irish fishermen will permanently leave the industry. Meanwhile, non-EU members such as Norway, persistently overfish our shared migratory stocks of mackerel,” O Donnell said.

The IFPO is one of five representative organisations which have formed the Seafood Ireland alliance.

The other members are the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO), the Irish South & West Fish Producer's Organisation (IS&WFPO), the Irish South & East Fish Producers Organisation (IS&EFPO) and the Irish Fish Processors & Exporters Association (IFPEA).

Accompanied by EU advisor, Michael Treacy, the group met MEPs from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, and Independent MEP, Kieran Mullooly.

KFO chief executive Dominic Rihan said the MEPs would hear a position paper on the key challenges facing the Irish fishing industry.

“We will also be making clear calls for action on mitigating the impacts of Brexit and reforming the Common Fisheries Policy. It’s time our share of EU quotas reflected our 12% share of the waters,” Rihan said.

Brendan Byrne, chief executive of the IFPEA says they want urgent action to address the huge losses being faced by the fish processing sector.

“Profitability across the board is reducing at an alarming rate, with some companies suffering a decline of 300%. Since January 2024, a number of fish processors have already closed with the loss of 151 jobs, other companies are down scaling and shedding jobs. Without direct action Ireland could lose 30%–40% of its fish processing capacity within two years.”

Byrne says 2024 is set to be “the worst year in the history of Irish fish processing. This reflects extremely poorly on EU policy and on the overall unfairness of the CFP towards Ireland. The reality is that over 85% of the fish caught in Irish waters is caught by EU vessels.”

John Lynch, chief executive of IS&EFPO, says they will also talk to MEPs about the urgent need to implement the recommendations in the last Common Fisheries Policy report.

“We need to place the Irish fishing industry back onto a level playing field with our European partners, after the disastrous Brexit outcome for our sector, “Lynch said.

Patrick Murphy, chief executive of IS&WFPO, said the group would also raise concerns about the lack of representation of the fishing industry at EU level.

“Our presence in Brussels at fisheries negotiations is limited and our input into key policy documents is largely ignored. The information flow from Europe on fisheries issues compared to other member states, such as the Netherlands and Denmark is minimal,”he said.

“ Our industry is forced to rely on its own sources for information and quite often is ‘in the dark’ on the progression of legislative proposals and the state of negotiations.”

“We want the Government to appoint a dedicated Minister of State for the Marine. We also want them to establish an integrated hub and point of contact at the heart of Europe in Brussels to act as a conduit for information between the administrative officials and the industry,”he said.

A Donegal fishing company has been named seafood exporter of the year at this year’s Irish Exporters Association (IEA) export industry awards.

McBride Fishing is a family run business based in Downings, Co Donegal, which exports premium live and processed crab to European and other international markets.

The Donegal company was one of four Irish seafood businesses shortlisted for the award, sponsored by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

The others were : Burren Smokehouse; Shines Seafood; and Carlingford Oyster Company.

Independent judges considered sustainability, product innovation, market access innovation and operational excellence, BIM says.

Companies were asked to demonstrate new product innovation, a commitment to sustainability and novel, or innovative logistical and/or packing solutions to access new markets.

The winner was announced at an awards ceremony held in Dublin last Friday, September 27th.

Richard Donnelly, BIM development and innovation services director, said that “demand for high quality seafood is strong, and McBride’s focus on sustainability, traceability and innovation has enabled them to seize diverse market opportunities in Europe, Asia and other key markets throughout the world”.

“On behalf of BIM, I want to congratulate them on their achievements. I also want to recognise their commitment to ensuring a consistently high standard throughout their operations. They are helping to drive the reputation of Irish seafood in Ireland and internationally,”he said.

McBride Fishing international sales director Luke McBride credited the “hard work, commitment and passion of the entire team” from “the crew on the boats to the office staff”.

“ It is a great recognition for the company to have since exporting is the core of the business. I want also to recognise and thank our partners in logistics, packing and airfreight for their expertise and support. Also, our joint venture company, Ocean Jade, has been pivotal in the Chinese market,”he said.

The Irish fishing industry is in “free fall”, an alliance of seafood organisations has said.

Responding to the annual Business of Seafood Report recently published by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the alliance of five Irish fishing producing and processing seafood organisations says the document is further confirmation of the worrying decline in the seafood industry.

A similar picture was painted in the recent Sea Fisheries Protection Authority landing data, the organisations have said.

The alliance notes that the “headline” from BIM focuses on the significant Government investment in the sector largely from funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).

Unlike other years this funding is treated as part of the revenue, which masks the actual situation in the ports around Ireland, they note.

“One off supports such as BAR cannot be used to distort the realities and challenges that all of industry are facing at present,”Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association (IFPEA) chief executive Brendan Byrne said.

“We have businesses that are genuinely under massive pressures from catching sector to processing and the 2023 report is further evidence we are in a deepening crisis,”he said.

Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation (IS&WPO) chief executive Patrick Murphy said that the report “shows the predicament the sector now faces”.

“The value of catches is down, the level of exports is down, employment is down, private investment has reduced, and the profitability of the Irish fleet and the processing sector have fallen off a cliff,”Murphy said.

Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation (ISEFPO) chief executive John Lynch said that “it is only right and proper to acknowledge the support provided to the sector, and we have consistently commended the work of the Minister in securing this funding”.

“The investment along with the short-term support are all welcome and badly needed. However, this funding alone does not address the systemic challenges facing the sector of having no fish to catch nor raw material to process. Costs are going up exponentially while revenues are falling rapidly,”Lynch said.

Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) chief executive Dominic Rihan noted that the Faroe Islands and Norway are “seeing unprecedented growth and investment”.

“More than a dozen new pelagic vessels with increased capacity to catch and store fish on board have entered these fleets, with more on order,” he said.

“Processing capacity has increased almost fivefold to meet the supply of fish coming from these vessels”.

“While their vessels have access to fisheries all year round and struggle to catch their inflated quotas, contrast this to Killybegs, where the entire fleet has been tied up since April and factories closed due to a lack of fish to process,”Rihan said.

Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation (IFPO) chief executive Aodh O Donnell said that “we hope recent reports are the necessary catalyst that convinces the Government to act to prevent the sector going into terminal decline”.

“There are opportunities, but we need the Government to acknowledge the challenges for these opportunities to be realised. Only by working collaboratively can we return the industry to the vibrant, profitability sector that it once was,” he said.

“As we approach a general election, we are asking that all our political representatives take a fundamental look at our national seafood sector and prioritise the development of the undeniable need for a recovery strategy post-election,” Murphy said.

“We as representatives of vessels accounting for close to 95% of Irish landings are willing to meet and discuss how resources can be best allocated to instigate recovery,” he said.

The alliance, which works together to affect change in fishery policy at national and EU level comprises the KFO, IFPO, IS&WFPO, IS&EFPO and IFPEA.

A Cypriot has been appointed new European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans.

Costas Kadis has been appointed to the brief by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as one of her 25 commissioner nominees in Brussels.

Kadis said his nomination to the role was “a great honour, but also a huge responsibility”, describing his portfolio as “important”.

“It aims at the sustainability of fishing, but also of Europe’s oceans. In this direction, it will be part of our mission to formulate, develop and agree with all member states the Pact for European Oceans, which will also be one of our main pursuits in the next period,” he said.

He added that he has an “appetite” for work and that he will do a “good job for the good of fishing, for the oceans, and for the European Union in general.”

Kadis has served as Cypriot minister of agriculture, rural development, and environment, and said his new appointment “relates to the experiences I gained in the agriculture ministry, which also had fisheries and marine research under its responsibility”.

Previous EU fisheries commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius also held responsibility for the environment, but this part of the brief has been given to Sweden’s Jessika Roswall, whose full portfolio bears the title “environment, water resilience, and a competitive circular economy”.

Cyprus’s president Nikos Christodoulides had said in July that Cyprus would be interested in the role of a European Commissioner for the Mediterranean – a title initially floated by Ursula Von der Leyen.

New rules to combat unsustainable fishing practices have been welcomed by the Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation (IFPO).

“We issued repeated warnings about unsustainable fishing by non-EU members in shared EU fishing zones,” IFPO chief executive Aodh O Donnell said in a statement.

“We are delighted these warnings have now been heeded and relieved that new rules will protect our shared fish stocks for future generations”.

O Donnell also welcomed the appointment today of a new EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, and said Ireland should follow suit by appointing a dedicated Minister for Marine.

O Donnell said it is time for the EU to implement their policies on ocean governance.

“The time has come for the EU to practice what they preach and to stop the deliberate, persistent and irresponsible fisheries management by Nordic countries,”he said.

“This is vital to protect widely distributed stocks that we share, such as mackerel. Ireland is very dependent on these stocks in terms of economic activity for our fleet and for onshore processing,”he said.

“Half of the quota of the EU’s total allowable catch of western mackerel is allocated to Ireland. If it’s overfished by Nordic states in our own waters, then this stock is under serious threat,”he said.

O Donnell urged the EU not to delay in introducing and enforcing the new regulations.

“It’s intolerable that EU states stick to agreed quotas while Nordic non-EU States overfish by setting their own rogue unilateral quotas,”he said.

“ These unilateral quotas exceed the overall agreed TAC by 45% as estimated by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, undermining the sustainable fishery practice that Ireland and Europe follows,”he noted.

Ireland as the main quota holder of the European western mackerel TAC has endured three years of scientifically recommended quota reductions, O Donnell explained.

However, 2024 marks a fourth year of overfishing against this independent scientific advice by the Nordic states including Norway and the Faroes,he said.

O Donnell said this unsustainable practice is “exacerbated by excessive interannual transfers to maximise the quota grab.”

“The mackerel stock is in serious jeopardy. Based on the activities of the Nordic states in the last year, we fear the worst in 2025,” he said.

“We also seek to raise the bar of monitoring and control of Norwegian fleets that catch enormous volumes of blue whiting in our waters each year,” he said.

“We urge Norway and Faroes to mirror the EU policy of actively promoting and implementing responsible fisheries management,”he said.

“We encourage them to agree to a comprehensive coastal sharing agreement for this important species and to stop the policy of disregarding scientific advice regarding the long-term sustainability of the stocks,” he said.

“Ireland must play a part in pushing for this legal framework to curtail the irresponsible activity by non-EU States. The amendment proposed to regulation 1026/2012 should be supported by effective trade measures that link market access to fisheries management,”he said.

A Co Louth skipper has been fined amounting to €2,500 for fisheries offences.

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) says that Anthony Conlon, from Drogheda, Co Louth, was fined, on September 17th at Drogheda district court for charges relating to under-recording of catches of haddock in the fishing logbook and landing declaration.

The offences took place on the fishing vessel Argonaut IV and were detected on September 23rd, 2022, during an inspection by SFPA officers of a catch landed at Dunmore East, Co Waterford.

Conlon was also fined for the late submission of the landing declaration in respect of the fishing trip.

The SFPA says that its officers detected 213 boxes of haddock were detected, whereas 131 boxes were recorded in the fishing logbook.

The court heard that haddock is a more sensitive species, and the boxed haddock catch was under-recorded by approximately 5,145kgs in the landing declaration.

The SFPA says that the landing declaration was submitted in October 2022, beyond the statutory 48-hour period from the completion of landing.

Evidence was presented to the court that SFPA officers also detected an over-recording of boxes of whiting onboard the vessel. A total of 86 boxes were recorded in the logbook and 11 boxes were found on inspection of the landing.

Evidence was given that the accuracy of data in fishing logbooks and landing declarations is important to determine the extent of quota uptake and for setting future fishing quotas to ensure stocks are preserved, the SFPA says.

The court heard that haddock and whiting in the relevant fishing areas are subject to tighter regulatory controls for their recovery and to prevent those stocks being overfished.

The SFPA says that the court remarked that the offences were “serious matters” at the heart of the ecological system, when fines totalling €2,500 were imposed.

Two State agencies have now used the same word - 'Challenging' - to describe how the Irish fishing industry fared last year.

These agencies have used a relatively 'soft' word in comparison to major representative organisations who describe 2023 and the resultant situation of the industry as "disastrous."

Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) is the latest agency to issue its 2023 report - the 'Business of Seafood' normally published earlier in the year. It has been released in the middle of the primary agricultural show, the National Ploughing Championships, at a time when farming and farmers dominate media attention.

That timing and the commonality of opinion between BIM, responsible for developing the seafood Industry and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, (SFPA) State regulator of sea fisheries and the seafood sector, is striking.

The SFPA's "Protecting Seafood Trade Report 2023" recorded a decrease in Irish fish exports to 49,782 tonnes from 78,171in 2022. It showed that the total value of landings was nearly €396 million, but digging down into those figures, industry representative organisations claimed that, overall, the industry had suffered a fall of €37m. in the value of landings.

BIM's Report, also describing 2023 as a "challenging year," says there was "a 2.9% decline in GDP from 2022 to a total value of €1.2 billion."

The Government now has two of its State agencies recording "challenging" times for the industry, as well as the major producer and exporter organisations warning that it is in a "downward trajectory."

BIM's Report says almost 15,673 adults work, directly and indirectly, in Ireland's seafood industry. "The impacts from Brexit continue to challenge the industry by limiting access to fishing opportunities and disrupting trade flows and market access. The sector also faced challenges from the cost-of-living crisis and high inflation, further affecting the economic environment. Access to raw materials, particularly for pelagic processing, remained a critical issue resulting in a 10% decrease in exports of key Irish seafood products, with the most pronounced reductions in blue whiting, crab and Irish organic salmon. In response, there was an unprecedented level of Government investment in the industry, demonstrating strong commitment to future growth and sustainability of the sector. Combined with EU Brexit Adjustment Reserve funding, this helped the sector achieve significant growth of 12%, bringing the total value to over €1.4 billion, despite the initial decline of 2.9% in GDP from 2022."

BIM records that consumption of seafood in 2023 increased by 9% to €515 million: "The sale value of salmon grew by 9% to €130 million and the seafood service sector grew by 13% to €189 million, just 3% off its peak in 2019. Food service operator purchases of seafood increased by 14%."

Acknowledging that the seafood industry has a vital role in "the sustainable, social and economic viability of rural coastal communities," Minister for the Marine Charlie McConalogue, says: "The Government's unprecedented level of investment demonstrates its commitment to supporting the industry." He has acknowledged that it has significant challenges: "There has been a very serious impact across all sectors of our seafood industry. There's no doubt it has impacted morale in a way that has not been seen before."

Following 'challenging' reports by two State agencies, what now is the future for the Irish fishing industry?