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ANIFPO attend Fisheries Meetings
22nd February 2010
What is likely to be the penultimate meeting of Northern Ireland's Fisheries Forum, laucnched by the DARD Minister Michelle Gildernew in March 2008, was held in Ballynahinch on Thursday of last week. The meeting was attended by represenatives from the Anglo-North Irish FPO Ltd.
During the last 18 months the Fisheries Forum has met on a regular basis to discuss the implementation of the European Fisheries Fund and last week's meeting was presented with draft recommendations for the DARD Minister.
Commenting on the meeting, Alan McCulla from the ANIFPO said that while the work of the Forum had on occasion been over shadowed by crisis brought about by the hike in fuel costs, days at sea and quota issues, he hoped that the recommendations put to the Minister by the Forum would reflect first and foremost what fishermen wanted and what was in the best long term interests of the entire fishing industry.
"It is clear that fishermen want a stable future. We've all been looking towards the light at the end of tunnel, but everytime the light seems to be getting a little closer, it seems those who claim to be managing the industry order some more tunnel and the light gets further away again."
"We hope that as the work of the Forum draws to a conclusion, the Minister will soon confirm her intention to launch a fishing vessel decommissioning scheme, which will form part of a strategy to reorganise the fishing industry, which will lead to an economically viable and sustainable future for the entire industry."
"Of course decisions made here in Northern Ireland will not guarantee that furture, unless we can also secure a change in the way fisheries management is imposed from Brussels, but we've got to start somewhere and learn from the piecemeal approach that has failed us in the past."
Later in the week, ANIFPO representatives also attended the latest meeting between the Tri-Council Fisheries Group and the DARD Minister, where discussions were held on a wide range of issues affecting the industry and fishing communities.
Alan McCulla said,
"We appreciate the support from all the local politicians involved in the Tri-Council group. It is clear that be it with decommissioning or whatever tools are used to secure a long term future for the industry, they must be applied in a non-discriminatory fashion, where every trawler owner can make a decsion on his/her future in the industry."
End
Another Blow for NI Fishing Industry
15th December 2009
The most important meeting of the year for Europe's fishing industry ended in Brussels today, with another disappointing result for Northern Ireland's fishing industry. While swinging cuts on the cod quota and days at sea had been expected, the most important decision was on the prawn quota, Northern Ireland's most important fishery. Very disappointingly and contrary to scientific evidence, Europe imposed a cut of 9% on prawns, although according to Alan McCulla from the Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation, this was obviously much better than the -30% cut on prawns Europe had originally proposed.
Speaking from Brussels where he was attending the talks, Mr McCulla said,
"Any cut in the prawn quota is scientifically unjust. Anyone who has taken the time to look at the scientific evidence and consider all of the socio-economic arguments has concluded that there is no logical reason to cut the prawn quota. Our First Minister came to that conclusion and has lobbied on our behalf. Our MEPs, MPs and MLAs have all studied the situation and come to that conclusion, as have officials within DARD and at UK level. I met the EU's Fisheries Commissioner with Diane Dodds MEP and he even seemed to believe that our's was a reasonable and logical position. The UK Fisheries Minister was on our side and our own Fisheries Minister Michelle Gildernew MP, MLA has very capably led the Northern Ireland team here in Brussels. Yet despite all of the support this week and over many weeks, we still lost. Why? Because of a few European officials who don't understand fisheries in the Irish Sea and sacrifice it for priorities elsewhere. As they have done for other industries and sectors, Europe must pay our industry and fishermen for limiting the time they are allowed to work and for the unjustified quota cuts. We don't want an industry that depends on aid, but that's the corner Europe has forced us into."
On the Irish Sea herring quota, where based on the science the UK was arguing for a 15% increase, the European Commission refused to budge from the status quo. The small, but important Irish Sea plaice quota, was increased by 14%. The Irish Sea haddock quota was maintained at the 2009 level, which Alan McCulla said was welcome news. He went on,
"We've been in Brussels before when the fishing industry disagreed with the science and we lost. That was bad enough, but here we are this year when the industry agrees with the science and vice versa and we've still lost on prawns. First and foremost this is very frustrating for the industry, but this year it has also been frustrating for our Ministers, politicians, officials and scientists."
"There is no doubt that this past few days the Northern Ireland fisheries team has worked as effectively as it could within the Brussels regime and without this effort things would have been much worse. Afterall, when we came here on Sunday, the proposal for Irish Sea prawns was a cut of -30%, so the team has made a lot of progress and we are very thankful for that. Michelle Gildernew's efforts this week and over many months on our behalf needs to acknowledged, as do the interventions made by many of our politicians."
"2009 has been another very tough year for our fishermen and 2010 will present them with new challenges. While at times it's hard to see it, our industry has a future and has ambitions. It is home grown, is sustainable and despite all the pessimism it will be here for a very long time to come. The cut on prawns and -25% cuts on the cod quota and days at sea are very disappointing, and we will take the next few days to examine the implications, as well as plan for the year ahead. This week in Brussels has proved again that when we work together the industry can make some progress, so we must learn from this and move on." concluded Alan McCulla.
EC 2010 Fishing Quota Proposals
EC 2010 Fishing Quota Proposals
EC 2010 Fishing Quota Proposals
19th October 2009
Local fishermen have reacted with dismay to the EC’s proposals for fishing opportunities in 2010. While some of the ‘bad-news’ has not come as a surprise, the local industry has been shocked by the EC’s proposal to slash the Irish Sea prawn quota by 30% next year.
Local fishermen have reacted with dismay to the EC’s proposals for fishing opportunities in 2010. While some of the ‘bad-news’ has not come as a surprise, the local industry has been shocked by the EC’s proposal to slash the Irish Sea prawn quota by 30% next year.
Local fishermen have reacted with dismay to the EC’s proposals for fishing opportunities in 2010. While some of the ‘bad-news’ has not come as a surprise, the local industry has been shocked by the EC’s proposal to slash the Irish Sea prawn quota by 30% next year.
"We expected bad news on quotas for cod, whiting and sole, and on days at sea, but the proposal to cut the quota for prawns, the most important local fishery, is a massive disappointment." said Alan McCulla from the Anglo-North Irish FPO.
He went on, "Two years ago, in light of new scientific evidence that proved the stock was being fished sustainably the prawn quota was increased by 17%. The proposed cut of 30% for 2010 is nothing to do with any change in the fisheries scientist’s perception of the stock, but is more to do with Brussels wanting to impose common scientific methodology across all prawn stocks around the UK and Ireland. Consequently, EU fisheries scientists developed harvest rules for the prawn stock in the North Sea and decided these rules should be applied to the prawn stocks in other sea areas, including the Irish Sea."
"The common application of this harvest rule has been disputed not only by the industry, but by Government fisheries scientists from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as officials from both countries who have written to the European Commission to complain at the way they (the EC) have approached this matter."
Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Agriculture Committee, who visited Brussels recently, were able to provide the EU’s Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg with details of the most recent scientific assessment of the prawn stock in the Irish Sea, which showed it as being stable.
"We still have massive problems with the way Europe has mis-managed the cod stock in the Irish Sea and in doing so have decimated the fleet that once depended upon this stock. Our fear is the EC will repeat these mistakes with the prawn stock and the industry that depends on them both at sea and onshore. Communities along the County Down coast, in particular Kilkeel have suffered a great deal during the current recession. Despite the problems with rules and prices the local fishing industry is just about managing to weather the recession. But yet again, its officials based in Brussels, who know little about the fishery in the Irish Sea, who are dictating the future of our industry. We know our own Fisheries Minister Michelle Gildernew MP is onside. We hope the UK Minister Huw Iranca Davies is equally as steadfast and makes the Irish Sea his priority this December." said Alan McCulla
The EC’s proposals have advocated a 14% increase in the quota for Irish Sea Plaice and no change for the haddock and herring quotas.
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