#Search - The search and rescue effort resumed this morning (Thursday 17 December) for a fisherman missing from a Spanish trawler off the Kerry coast since yesterday afternoon, as RTÉ News reports.

The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115 rejoined the search this morning, alongside the Naval Service vessel LE Aisling and Valentia RNLI's lifeboat, after standing down last night due to poor visibility and severe weather conditions.

According to The Irish Times, the 46-year-old Spaniard is thought to have fallen overboard from the 38m trawler Peixemar, which fishes out of Castletownbere and was some 64km off the Blaskets when the incident occurred.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney T.D. has today published the report of the Government Task Force on Non-EEA Workers in Irish Fishing Industry. The Task Force was set up just over a month ago by Government following reports of alleged abuses of migrant workers on board Irish fishing vessels. The high level Task Force was chaired by Minister Coveney, and also involved Minister Ged Nash, Minister of State for Business and Employment and senior officials from relevant Government Departments and Agencies. It received presentations and submissions from a number of relevant stakeholders. The report is downloadable below.

The Task Force recommended a new sector specific Atypical Worker Permission system which will enable employers in specific parts of the Irish Fishing fleet, under a structured and transparent framework, to source and employ workers from non-EEA countries. The scheme developed provides that employees will be guaranteed, at a minimum, the national minimum wage and statutory terms and conditions in accordance with national law, which will be underpinned by the requirement for employers to provide a legally binding contract of employment.

Speaking after briefing Cabinet colleagues on the main contents of the scheme, Minister Coveney stated “These new arrangements will provide a clear pathway for the employment of non-EEA workers in parts of the Irish fishing fleet while ensuring that such workers cannot be exploited. The Task Force strongly benefited from the input of the Migrant Rights Centre and the International Transport Workers Federation which outlined the experiences of non EEA workers and outlined measures that would give protection to these workers”.

The Minister also stated, “I am also greatly encouraged by the engagement of Fishing Industry representative organisations with the work of the Task Force. The Task Force evaluated the information provided and developed a scheme that will support structured employment of crew on fishing vessels and give guarantees on conditions of work to these employees. I hope to have the new arrangements, which will provide for up to 500 non-EEA workers to work legally in Ireland’s Fishing Industry, in place very early in the New Year.”

Minister Ged Nash added, “We now have a scheme which I believe will address the problem of illegal migrant workers in the Irish fishing fleet and also the potential for abuse of these workers. What is key now is the enforcement and inspection element and I am chairing a group to agree a Memorandum of Understanding to provide for effective enforcement across all relevant State agencies. Extensive progress is being made on this plan, which I expect to finalise shortly, where our agencies will coordinate, cooperate and share information.”

The main recommendations of the Task Force’s report are:-

· The establishment of a new system of atypical worker permission specific to the fishing sector for recruitment of non-EEA workers. The scheme will provide that during the first 3 months after its commencement, permissions will be limited to those non-EEA workers already operating in Ireland on fishing vessels.

· Employers (who must be licensed vessel owners) are to be responsible for ensuring that a valid contract of employment, certified by a Solicitor and drafted in accordance with National and EU employment rights legislation, is in place for all workers. Employees will be guaranteed, as a minimum, the national minimum wage, will be repatriated at the conclusion of a contract where no new contract is in place and will be provided with adequate health care coverage for the duration of the contract.

· A pre-clearance system to be put in place, including the establishment of a depository of contracts which will monitor overall numbers (to be capped at a maximum of 500).

· A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be put in place before the commencement of the scheme by the relevant State enforcement bodies to provide a rigorous and effective inspection system

#IrishHarbours - Concerns expressed by a number of readers to Afloat.ie over fishing activity in Dun Laoghaire's inner harbour have been assuaged by the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company.

Two trawlers were spotted around noon last Friday (4 December) dragging a full-sized fishing net between them around the inner harbour.

But Dun Laoghaire's acting harbour master Simon Coate has since confirmed to Afloat.ie that the boats in question were fishing with permission for sprat.

Coate added that the forage fish species comes into the harbour in large numbers on a regular basis at this time of year.

Harbour concerns of a different kind have been heard in Howth, with local TD Tommy Broughan taking the Department of the Marine to task over the lack of any timetable or specific funding for dredging the harbour area - where local yacht club users have found conditions getting worse.

In a post on his website, Deputy Broughan said he was "contacted by members of the Howth Harbour Users Action Group who are very concerned about the build-up of silt in the harbour and the damaging effect this is having on all aspects of this important harbour.

"Howth Harbour has not been dredged for decades. I understand it was last dredged in 1981 or 1982 and I do not recall a dredging programme in the harbour in many years representing the area.

"The action group reports that this neglect has led to almost 6ft of silt building up in the harbour and an operational crisis for all the fishing and leisure craft which use it."

While welcoming investment in infrastructural works at the fishery harbour centre, Deputy Broughan underlines that it is "critical that the harbour does not become unworkable as a result of the build-up of silt".

Read more on this story HERE.

#Fishing - Two supertrawlers feared to have been "pillaging" fishing grounds off the West Coast have left Irish waters before the Naval Service could board them for inspection.

According to The Irish Times, poor weather conditions over the past fortnight deterred inspection of the Margiris – which has been banned from Australian waters – and the Annelies Ilena, formerly the Atlantic Dawn, whose skipper was convicted after the vessel was detained for breaching EU regulations earlier this year.

The same trawler was detained two years ago over similar alleged infringements, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Both supertrawlers were declared as "high priority" inspection targets due to their large size and on-board fish processing facilities and were being monitored by both the Naval Service and the Sea Fisheries Protection Agency, the latter of which noted the "specific challenges" of closer observation at sea.

MEP Luke 'Ming' Flanagan is among those calling for a stricter inspection regime for such vessels that includes a mandatory stop at an Irish port before leaving this country's waters.

The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.

#MarineNotice - Marine Notice No 50 of 2015 advises that dredging and cathodic protection works have commenced this week, weather permitting, at An Daingean Fishery Harbour Centre in Co Kerry.

The dredging works involve the removal of an existing disused slipway and dredging of the seabed material within the vicinity of the slipway in the eastern basin.

The cathodic protection works involves the installation, commission and testing of a cathodic protection system, along 209m of sheet pile wall on the east side of the main pier.

The dredging works are being advanced by a marine contractor working from two barges, 30x11m and 30x17m in size respectively, using heavy civil engineering plant and machinery, work vessels and platforms. Divers will be employed on-site to install anodes to the sheet piles on the east side of the main pier.

For safety reasons, mariners are requested to proceed slowly and with caution in the eastern basin and berthing on the east side of the main pier of An Daingean Fishery Harbour Centre, and to give the works a wide berth. Wave-wash from vessels should be avoided.

These works are expected to be ongoing until end of January 2016, weather permitting. For further information, contact An Daingean Harbourmaster’s Office at 066 915 1629.

#Fishing - Minister for Natural Resources Joe McHugh has announced a new collaborative research initiative involving Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) marine scientists and a number of former eel fishermen to further develop national knowledge of the species and its medium- to longer-term potential for recovery.

Based on management advice from IFI, the existing conservations measures in Ireland’s Eel Management Plan (EMP), agreed by the EU under EC Regulation 1100/2007, will remain in place up to mid-2018.

“IFI has submitted advice and recommendations on Ireland’s EMP in the period 2015-18. These recommendations are cognisant of the independent scientific recommendations from the Standing Scientific Committee on Eels (SSCE) which underline the risk in opening fisheries at this time," said Minister McHugh.

“I am anxious that a scientific fishery involving some of the stakeholders is undertaken for the next three years to increase data and knowledge ahead of further review and I have secured funding to start the research in 2016. This would facilitate a better informed decision on the outlook for the stock over the next few years and beyond and also the prospects for a return to commercial fishing activity.”

The minister also pointed out that IFI would examine the data derived from the new initiative annually and review recommendations on management measures if the research supported this.

While some river basin districts appeared to attain the escapement targets set in the EU regulation, the minister said regulation clearly required attainment of targets over the long term.

“Progress has been made since 2009 when the protection actions were introduced with some rivers basins showing encouraging signs, but we cannot undermine that progress by undoing key conservation measures because we have some green shoots.”

Minister McHugh also emphasised that he fully appreciates the demographics of the former fishermen and the difficulties experienced by them since 2009.

“I want to use the new scientific research to better explore the potential for short to medium term recovery of the fishery and prospects for fishing in the future," he said. "We have put in place measures to protect eel stocks but based on the research outcome I will be better placed to consider the longer term socio-economic impacts on fishermen and communities and what measures it may be possible to put in place for fishermen.”

The measures currently in place under Ireland’s EMP principally involve a cessation of the commercial eel fishery and closure of the market, and mitigation of the impact of hydropower installations.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, illegal trade in eels is a growing business, with hundreds of millions of young eels taken from France's Atlantic coast to China each year.

#Fishing - Renewable work permits for non-EEC nationals in the Irish fishing industry will be limited to 500, the Marine Minister has announced.

According to The Irish Times, Minister Simon Coveney says the new regime would initially apply only to those already employed in ports and on fishing boats, aimed at regularising people who may be working undocumented.

The proposal has been put forward by the cross-departmental taskforce established to investigate claims of widespread exploitation of migrant labour in the Irish fishing fleet. The Guardian's damning report on 2 November has been criticised by many in the industry.

“We want people who are currently working in the fishing industry but are undocumented - we want to change their status to make sure they are legally working here under a contract of employment," said the minister. "Then after that first three months, there will be a quota, a cap if you like, of 500 people.”

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#Fishing - Wildlife conservationists have called for an independent observer to be placed aboard a supertrawler previously banned from Australian waters that's returned to Ireland's fishing grounds.

According to The Irish Times, the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has urged Marine Minister Simon Coveney to ensure that the FV Margiris – one of the world's largest fishing boats – is sticking to its quota under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) as it fishes off Donegal.

The biggest concern for conservationists is possible by-catch in waters that double as a protected cetacean sanctuary by the 143m vessel, which trawls with enormous nets said be bigger than a football pitch, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.

"It is simply unacceptable that enormous boats like this can move into our waters and hoover up marine life," said IWT campaigns officer Padraic Fogerty.

His concerns were echoed by Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO) CEO Francis O'Donnell, who said that while the boat may be fishing on licence with a quota, "the real worry I would have is that they are not being controlled properly by Irish authorities in Irish waters."

Last year Minister Coveney was forced to assuage concern over the Margiris' fishing activity off the west coast as it has secured an allocation for blue whiting under the CFP.

In other fishing news, The Irish Times says Minister Coveney has promised weekly meetings by the new cross-departmental taskforce established to investigate claims of exploitation in the Irish fishing fleet.

Inspections of fishing vessels began last week, resulting in one Egypptain fisherman charged, but ahead of the latest meeting the minister said: "I don’t want this to be a witchhunt on people who may be here illegally and may be vulnerable."

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the first meeting of the taskforce took place last Thursday 5 November in the wake of a damning Guardian report alleging the exploitation of undocumented and even trafficked labour in the Irish fishing industry.

The allegations have been criticised by leading industry figures as well as the daughter of the lake skipper of the Tit Bonhomme, which sank tragically in January 2012 taking the lives of three Egyptian fishermen along with her father and a fellow Irish crewman.

The Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney met Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries during a visit to Malta today (Monday 9th November). The meeting covered the setting of fishing quotas for 2016, the introduction of the first phase of the discards ban for the whitefish fleet in 2016.

The Minister said “During my visit to Malta to meet the officers and crew of the LE Samuel Beckett, I held an informal and constructive meeting with Commissioner Vella. I set out some of the challenges facing our fishing industry in 2016, particularly for the whitefish and prawn fleets with introduction of the discards ban for some fisheries. The discards ban will directly apply next year to our important prawn fleet and our Celtic Sea whiting fleet. I made clear that I will be working at the December Council to achieve quotas that take account of this new situation where all catches in these fisheries must be landed. While I fully support the introduction of quotas that respect scientific advice, I pointed out that in line with the new Common Fisheries Policy, I will be looking for a phasing in of the new limits recommended by the scientific advice for some key economic stocks, which will be fished by the fleets which are becoming subject to the discards ban.”

Minister Coveney took the opportunity to brief Commissioner Vella on the issues highlighted by a recent report in the Guardian newspaper on illegal migrant workers on Irish fishing vessels. The Minister advised that the Irish Government has established a Task Force to examine the issues fully and to make recommendations on appropriate actions as a priority before the end of the year. Minister Coveney undertook to advise the Commissioner on the work of the Task Force and the Irish Government’s planned response.

The meeting also focused on the ongoing mackerel sharing arrangements involving the EU, Norway, Faroe Islands and the possible inclusion of Iceland and Russia under a new agreement. The mackerel fishery is economically the most important to Ireland and there are ongoing discussions under a Coastal States process to reach a long term agreement on the management of the stock.

Concluding the Minister said “Commissioner Vella undertook to work closely with us over the coming weeks in order to secure a balanced range of quotas for the Irish fleet”.

#Fishing - The daughter of the Tit Bonhomme's Irish skipper has joined those rejecting claims of widespread exploitation in the Irish fishing industry as revealed by the Guardian earlier the week.

Lia Ní Aodha, daughter of the late Michael Hayes and who is completing a PhD on the EU's Common Fisheries Policy at the University of Manchester, told The Irish Times in an open letter of her surprise at the allegations.

“It painted undocumented and abused as synonymous, it took the general conditions that go with a life at sea and painted them as exploitation, and it took tragedy at sea and painted it as easily avoidable,” she wrote.

In particular Ní Aodha criticised the Guardian's reference to the Tit Bonhomme tragedy, in which three Egyptian fisherman – Saled Mohamed Ibrahim Aly Eldin, Attia Shabaan and Wael Mohamed – died alongside her father and fellow Irish crew Kevin Kershaw. The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Ní Aodha's comments come days after an Egyptian fisherman was detained for failing to produce valid work documentation at the Tit Bonhomme's home port of Union Hall in West Cork.

Marine Minister Simon Coveney has since chaired the first meeting of the new cross-Government taskforce in response to the Guardian's allegations over human trafficking and safety breaches across the Irish prawn and whitefish fleet.