EU deal will limit days at sea for Irish fish trawlers

European fisheries ministers have agreed a deal in Brussels that will for the first time place limitations on the number of days fishermen can work in the Irish sea.

However, in a statement, the Department of the Marine said Minister Dermot Ahern had succeeded in "substantially modifying Commission proposals which would have imposed drastic restrictions on Irish fishermen in the Irish Sea and off Donegal". The deal was reached on the third day of talks in Brussels.

I am pleased to say that we successfully put an end to such an unworkable and impracticable idea. Mr Dermot Ahern

The Minister pointed out that, under the deal, 89 per cent of the Irish Sea fleet will not be subject to the "days at sea" proposal. The Commission had proposed a system of cuts that would have limited the length of time that fishermen could spend fishing in the Irish Sea and a large area off the Donegal coast.

"I am pleased to say that we successfully put an end to such an unworkable and impracticable idea," Mr Ahern said.

The agreement provides for a range of fishing days, from no restrictions at all to 12 days per month, depending on the type of fishing gear used and the level of cod, sole and plaice catches.

Total Irish quotas for 2004 amount to 204,379 tonnes, compared to 189,500 tonnes for 2003, an increase of 8 per cent.

The deal secured for 2004 also includes additional quota secured under the Hague Preference system under which Ireland gets additional whitefish quota at the expense of certain other countries.

Today's compromise deal came at the end of marathon three-day talks aimed at saving endangered species like cod and keeping fishermen financially afloat. The deal affects catche in the Irish Sea, North Sea and the waters off western Scotland as well as waters off the Donegal coast.

Germany and Sweden voted against the proposed fishing quotas for next year, while Greece abstained. There was unanimous agreement on long-term stock recovery plans for cod and northern hake, two of the EU's most endangered species. France had held out to the last to get a better deal for its fishermen, officials said.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler said it was a "balanced" agreement giving fishermen already facing severe threats to their livelihoods another lifeline.

He said agreements on next year's catches kept the industry alive, while the "basic principle" of long-term recovery plans for cod and for hake had been set.

The Commissioner said: "Germany and Sweden thought this deal was too generous and the catch quotas too high.  But a lot of people wanted more flexibility, to establish a balance in fishing, and this is what we have been able to achieve."