Fishermen Tackle Catch Reduction

Fishermen have reacted angrily following a European Commission announcement to severely restrict fishing off the Irish northwest coast.

Irish fishermen have been stunned by the commission's proposals to impose a ban on all whitefish fisheries off the coast and a reduction on catches of the major species taken by the Irish fleet by up to 25%.

Fishermen believe this year's quotas from the EU Fisheries Commission is particularly severe towards an already depleted Irish fishing industry. A third of the Irish fleet is already being removed, with boats being broken up in Northern Ireland, Belgian and Danish yards, while ports on the northwest coast, such as Killybegs, have already suffered high unemployment.

Announcing the cuts, the commission said: "Most stocks of fish continue to be overfished in 2008. This means that in order to build a healthy industry for the future, we need to fish less in the short term.

"There has been so much overfishing over many years that the balance of the marine ecosystems on which our fisheries depend, is seriously disturbed. To nurture them back to their former productivity will often mean fishing less today so that fish stocks have a chance to recover."

The Irish prawn quota will also face cuts of 15% among other species taken by the Irish fleet.

The Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) has reacted angrily called on the Government to defend the fishing industry and its vital role in coastal areas. The FIF said the Commission is acting in a reckless, misguided, unjustified and counterproductive way that will cause harm to many Irish fishermen.

However, it's not all bad news as Mackerel stocks have made a recovery, seeing a 33% increase in their fishing quota announced last week.

FIF spokesman, Sean O'Donoghue said of the increase: "We are moving towards a new sustainable long-term management plan for mackerel which will give the stability in the TAC the Industry is seeking going forward."

(DW)