The Minister for Marine, Simon Coveney TD, at 6.15 a.m. this morning, after some 36 hours of negotiations, secured a new mandate from EU Fisheries Ministers to enter final negotiations with the European Parliament on a reformed Common Fisheries Policy.

The new position drafted by the Council of Ministers is based on a revised 200 page compromise legal text which Minister Coveney presented to Fisheries Ministers on early Wednesday morning.

Minister Coveney welcomed the support he received at the Fisheries Council saying:

"This agreement follows very difficult and complex negotiations, it amounts to a significant compromise on behalf of my fellow Fisheries Ministers to allow further negotiations with the European Parliament take place to finalise the Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in the coming weeks."

The Minister went on to say:

"This decision by the Council is a major conciliatory step in the direction of the European Parliament and hopefully paves the way for successful conclusion of the inter-institutional negotiations on the reform. It is evidence of the importance placed by Fisheries Ministers on making this radical package of measures"

The Irish Presidency has prioritised securing CFP reform before the end of its term and three-way talks between the Council, European Parliament and Commission will now continue with the aim of achieving that goal on the basis of this new position drafted by the Council of Ministers.

Minister Coveney continued:

"The Council has recognised the practical challenges of fishermen and the potential socio-economic impacts in coastal communities during the negotiations over the past number of months. I believe that the historical package agreed this morning will prepare the way for a European wide discards ban, facilitate more sustainable fishing levels in addition to appropriate management of fleet capacity and a workable regionalisation policy. It will provide the framework for the long term sustainability of the fish stocks around our shores and the continued economic viability of our fishing fleet and the processors and communities that depend on them".

The package agreed this morning will allow us to rebuild the fish stocks in European waters and will allow for significant quota increases for our fishermen as we phase out the wasteful practice of discarding fish and see the benefits of this change in rebuilding our fish stocks and ensuring a better, and more secure future, for our fishermen and coastal communities.

The Minister will this morning present the new compromise to the leaders of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament and explain the thinking behind it.

The Minister concluded saying:

"We are under no illusions as to the challenges facing us with the European Parliament, however the strong compromise mandate given to me today places added responsibility on our co-legislators in the European Parliament to show reciprocal flexibility to facilitate the successful conclusion on the Common Fisheries Policy, which is the objective of both institutions."

#CFP - 'Fight Fight' campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall writes on the Guardian's Comment Is Free blog that this week's upcoming discussions among the EU's fisheries ministers is a "once-in-a-decade opportunity" to end the practice of fish discards.

The TV chef, who has long campaigned against the practice of discarding fish in Europe's seas under the quota system implemented by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), hopes that this week's discussions among EU ministers over the final text to submit to the European Parliament includes "a proper discard ban - one that will finally eliminate the disgraceful waste of fish that occurs under the current system".

Though all parties involved have agreed in principle to ban discards, Fearnley-Whittingstall believes "we're in the endgame: a tussle between the parliament and the ministers over the final shape of the new CFP" - with "powerful fishing countries such as France and Spain happier to see the current broken system continue, rather than deal with the awkward aspects of transforming their fisheries into a sustainable, profitable and growing sector".

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Ireland's Marine Minister Simon Coveney - president of the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers - is pushing for ministers to focus on the most critical elements such as fish discards in their discussions on CFP reform in Brussels from tomorrow 13 May.

#Fishing - Marine Minister Simon Coveney will present a revised comprehensive compromise Irish EU presidency text to the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers on Monday 13 May seeking a new mandate to re-enter final negotiations with the European Parliament on a reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Minister Coveney said that these decisive negotiations for agreeing a comprehensive reform of the CFP in Brussels on 13-14 May are likely to be very difficult given the significance for the next decade of what may be decided at the meeting.

“An enormous amount of work has gone into progressing the reform with council, commission and parliament during the Irish presidency," he said. "We now have an Irish presidency substantially revised set of compromise proposals which I believe give us a sound basis for positive engagement at council.

"Agreement at council on this presidency compromise package would support an ambitious reformed CFP which would secure a better future for our fish stocks and for the fishermen and coastal communities who depend on them."

The minister emphasised that there is a "very short window of opportunity for council and parliament to agree and deliver an effective reform of our fisheries policy and the Irish presidency is doing all it can to bring the institutions together to take this historic opportunity.

"I believe that if all parties focus on the critical elements of a reformed CFP, we can by working together reach realistic and substantial agreement through the co-decision process during the Irish presidency.”

Formal negotiations with the European Parliament have resulted in the Irish presidency drawing up a revised compromise 200-page legal text, which Minister Coveney, as president of the council, will use as the basis of negotiations with EU fisheries ministers.

The objective is to get political agreement on a final compromise package to enable conclusion of negotiations with the parliament and the commission on CFP reform during the Irish presidency, which concludes at the end of June.

Minister Coveney will also update EU ministerial colleagues on progress made to date by the Irish presidency during the ‘trilogue’ process where EU presidency (council), commission and parliament have been engaged in complex discussions on refining proposals for CFP reform.

A website launched by West Cork fishermen says now is the time to reform the Common Fisheries Policy because 'Ireland continues to gift the EU with €1billion of fish annually from Irish national waters'.

The website is supported with significant statistics showing Ireland's low rights compared with European neighbours.

Ireland, a peripheral island with some of the richest fishing waters in the E.U. and a three thousand mile coastline, get a mere 4% of the valuable demersal (bottom feeding fish) quotas.  This is meant to serve over 2,000 vessels while, as the website says 'our so called partners take over one billion Euro per annum from what we call our water'.

More on http://fishingforjustice.eu

#Fishing - The Marine Institute is encouraging the agreement of a new code of practice for oyster fishing at Ballinakill Bay in Co Galway, which is set to lose its disease-free status.

Galway Bay FM reports that a single oyster out of 900 tested at the bay, near Letterfrack on the north-west coast of Connemara, tested positive for the Ostreid herpes virus two years ago as part of an EU-supported programme.

Though accounting for just 0.11% of the entire sample, the positive test is enough to strip the area of its clean status.

Senator Trevor O'Clochartaigh raised the issue in the Seanad last week, which prompted the Department of the Marine to confirm that the Marine Institute recommends a code of practice that would see the area's status eventually reinstated.

#GalwayHarbour - Plans for the expansion of Galway Harbour are "99 per cent ready to go", as the Galway Independent reports.

Eamon Bradshaw, CEO of the Galway Harbour Company, said that the application for the new development would be submitted by the end of June.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the scheme will be the first Irish project lodged under new legislation that provides for planning permission on the grounds of "overriding public interest".

Bradshaw says that the necessary Natura Impact Statement has been completed, and economic and financial details were now being finalised for the redevelopment project at the harbour, recently recognised by the Government as a 'port of regional significance'.

Should it get the go-ahead from An Bord Pleanála, the new harbour will extend almost 1km out to sea with 660m of quay berth and plenty of space for cargo and container ships, oil tankers, fishing vessels and passenger ships.

The project will be completed in four phases, with the first €50 million phase extending the port by some 57 acres to accommodate a greater number of commercial ships and modern cruise liners.

Galway City Council recently granted extra time to the Galway Harbour Company for pre-expansion demolition works in the docks area.

The Galway Independent has much more on the story HERE.

The skipper of a Belgium registered beam trawler has today been ordered to pay a total of £2,345 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to offences under the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (Colregs).

Jeffry Demeester, the skipper of FV Deborah, appeared at West Hampshire Magistrates Court this morning.

During the early hours of 18 January 2012, the Hong Kong registered tanker Sea Transport was in the Bristol Channel waiting for orders to enter Milford Haven. The tanker was fully loaded, with an estimated 90,000 tonnes of crude oil on board. Weather conditions at the time were poor with driving rain.

The FV Deborah was outward bound from Milford Haven heading towards Belgium. The skipper was alone on the bridge. He did notice the ship on AIS and radar but made an incorrect assessment that he would miss the ship. He did not realise that the FV Deborah was on a collision course with the Sea Transport.

Shortly after 1am on 18 January and approximately 14 miles from the entrance to Milford Haven, the bow of the trawler ran into the port quarter of the tanker making a deep gash above the waterline on the side of the ship causing extensive damage. Nobody was injured and there was no reported pollution.

In sentencing, the Court took into consideration his previous good character and full cooperation with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in this matter as well as his early plea of guilty to the charges.

Robert Cotter, Surveyor in Charge at the MCA's Cardiff Marine Office said:

"The rules state that every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision. This incident is a direct result of that rule not being adhered to".

Jim Higgins MEP has welcomed the launch of a comprehensive European web resource that will provide up-to-date price and market information on all fishery and aquaculture products for the benefit of the entire maritime sector.

"By coordinating all the market statistics in Europe, the European Commission website is providing a reliable overview with specifics based on individual interest. It will give producers a much clearer picture of the fisheries market and hopefully will enable them to seek out new market opportunities and improve production in accordance with market demands," Mr Higgins said in Brussels today.

"The European Market Observatory for Fishery and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA) is an EU-wide interactive web-tool that will provide the latest volume, value and price of fisheries and aquaculture products throughout the supply chain, from when they land to port to when they are displayed on supermarket shelves.

"The Observatory will be updated every day with production with information including data on imports, exports and consumption trends. It is multilingual, user friendly and free of charge," Mr Higgins added.

Users will be able to search by catch, farm, import or specific areas. For example, with three clicks you can get the cod prices in early April over 14 market places in 7 European countries. Users can also research the wholesale prices for types of fish across several European countries or the retail prices in chosen countries. They can then save the parameters of any search to obtain customised and updated weekly or monthly reports.

The website is accessible here: http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/market-observatory

#RNLI - Aran Islands RNLI in Galway Bay assisted six fishermen from a 24m trawler yesterday Thursday 18 April.

The volunteer lifeboat crew launched their all-weather lifeboat at 4.20pm following a report that a fishing vessel, the Archangel, with six crew on board had got into difficulty and broken down one mile north west of Inishmore.



There was a six-metre swell at the time with a force seven to eight wind.



The lifeboat crew under coxswain John O’Donnell arrived on scene accompanied in the air by Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115 - the subject of its own documentary TV series currently showing on RTÉ One - and established a tow line removing the vessel from any immediate danger.



The trawler was then towed back to Rossaveal in Connemara. 



Speaking following the call-out, Aran Islands RNLI lifeboat operations manager Michael Hernon said: "Thanks to the speed and efficiency of the crew in launching the lifeboat, we were able to arrive on scene in good time to assist the fishermen and successfully tow the trawler safely to shore."

#RNLI - Portaferry RNLI rescued a windsurfer who got into difficulty off the Co Down coast yesterday (16 April).

The volunteer crew launched their inshore lifeboat before 5pm yesterday evening to go the aid of the injured windsurfer reported to be in the area of Pig Island, a small island in Strangford Lough close to Newtownards Sailing Club.

The weather at the time was described as blowing slight to moderate winds with good visibility.

The crew was on scene at 5.15pm where they found the man on Pig Island accompanied by two other men. The windsurfer, who was suffering from a shoulder injury, was transferred to the lifeboat and made comfortable before being taken to the sailing club, where he was then transferred into the care of the coastguard and passed to the ambulance service to be taken to hospital.

Speaking after the rescue, Portaferry RNLI lifeboat operations manager Brian Bailie said: "As the charity that saves lives at sea, we will always respond to any call for help where someone is in danger.

"Strangford Lough is a popular destination for a wide range of water sport enthusiasts and it is important that they take all necessary precautions when using the lough.

"As we are all aware, accidents can and do happen and it is at such times that the work carried out by the volunteer crews of the RNLI is so important."

Elsewhere in Co Down yesterday, Bangor and Donaghadee RNLI assisted a fisherman whose 28ft commercial fishing boat experienced engine failure.

The crew quickly located the disabled boat one mile west of the Copeland Islands at the mouth of Belfast Lough yesterday morning after 11.15am.

With the vessel drifting closer to the island shores and the wind gusting gale force eight, a tow line was quickly rigged and passed to the fishing boat. Bangor RNLI was escorted by Donaghadee RNLI's all-weather lifeboat as it towed the fishing vessel to the safety of Bangor Harbour.

Bangor RNLI volunteer helm Peter Scott, who was involved in this rescue, said: "Engine failure close to shore could lead to a life threatening situation. We always urge everyone going to sea to make sure their electrical systems and engine are well maintained and in good working order. A good anchor and chain should always be carried as part of essential safety equipment.

"We are glad the skipper of this vessel is now safely ashore," he added.