Barrett says no justification for major cuts in fishing fleet

THERE is no justification for major cuts in the Irish fishing fleet based on the part it plays in the European problem of overfishing, the Minister for the Marine told the Seanad.

Speaking on a private members' motion on the fishing industry, Mr Barrett said that European Commission proposals for fleet cuts of up to 40 per cent were "totally unacceptable" and would have a devastating effect on the livelihoods of many coastal communities.

"However, make no mistake, there is a tough battle to be fought," he said. "Other member states are not likely to accept a large cut in their own fleets while the Irish fleet is allowed to increase in size or even remain at its present size.

"All member states are under extreme pressure to maintain their existing employment in fishing and to maintain their fleets without cuts. Such an approach would be unacceptable to the Commission and, in fact, it would be unacceptable to me," he said.

The seas around our coasts are overfished, he added. But in pushing for action to cut overfishing, he would have to make our European partners recognise "that we will not pay the price for overfishing by others".

This would be his message to the Fisheries Council next week when a preliminary discussion on the latest programme for fleet cuts is held, Mr Barrett said.

Senator Joe Sherlock (DL) welcomed the Minister's comments that the proposed cuts were unacceptable. If they were implemented, he said, the result for Ireland would be devastating.

"No one would deny that European fish stocks have been seriously depleted in recent decades. But this depredation has been caused by the large high tech Baltic and Iberian fleets.

"They have not been caused by Irish fishermen who, because of our weather conditions, cannot even spend time in the fishing grounds," he said.

The Commission was trying to "sweeten the pill" of its proposed cuts by allocating £2.5 billion to cushion the blow, Mr Sherlock said. But such a once off payment would not compensate fishermen and their communities for the ongoing hardship from the cuts, which would deprive them of their "economic backbone".