In a meeting with European Commissioner Joe Borg at today’s Fisheries Council in Luxembourg, Mr. Tony Killeen TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with responsibility for fisheries, outlined for the Commissioner the current issues facing the industry.Minister Killeen commented: “I highlighted the current problems where we are again seeing rising fuel costs at the same time as the price of fish at the quayside is falling for many of the important stocks including hake and prawns.” He said that the economic viability of the fishing sector had again come into question. The Minister continued: “Ireland would like to put back on the table its submission for an emergency aid package for discussion with the Commission. These proposals, based on a restructuring package for the fishing fleet & involving the provision of additional EU funding are now needed to assist the industry. I asked that in the current circumstances we reconsider the need for an EU funded package of measures. I also asked that the EU Commission ensure that imports of fish into the community respect all appropriate rules & that we do not increase the volume of fish imported at reduced or zero tariff levels.”
Minister Killeen raised issues in relation to the Cod Recovery Plan in the Irish Sea and in the North West. He asked for changes that would maximize the available fishing effort for the Irish fleet by allowing Ireland to choose the reference years to be used to establish the effort for each individual fishery. The Minister also asked for other practical changes to the rules that would help alleviate the impacts on the fleet particularly in the North West and in the Irish Sea.
