EU FISHERIES commissioner Joe Borg has promised “definitive proposals” for next month’s ministerial council that will address the fuel price squeeze affecting European fleets.
Separately, Mr Borg has secured agreement on tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated catches, which constitute some €1.1 billion worth of annual seafood imports to the EU.
The decision to buy time on the fuel price issue at yesterday’s EU fisheries council in Luxembourg has been described as “extremely frustrating” by the Federation of Irish Fishermen, which is seeking temporary tie-up aid for vessels hit by the price hike.
Minister of State for Fisheries Tony Killeen said he would continue to press for a “pan-European” approach to the issue, through a “strong package” of EU-funded measures.
Speaking from Luxembourg, Mr Killeen said that he was pleased with the support offered on the issue by a number of other member states, and said he anticipated “further progress” could be made on July 15th.
Mr Killeen ruled out State support for a temporary tie-up, as a “large-scale” decommissioning programme for the whitefish fleet was under way.
No finance was available nationally under the European Fisheries Fund for temporary tie-up measures, he said, but he “firmly believed” that short-term measures must be introduced by the EU to address the “immediate financial hardship faced by vessel owners and crew”.
Mr Killeen also described as “very significant” the agreement reached to tackle imports of illegal and unregulated fish from within and outside the EU, as they were depressing the price of fish within the EU and causing serious environmental damage.
Any vessel, on or off the European register, that is caught landing an illegal catch at an EU port may be exposed to maximum fines of five times the market value of the fish from 2010. This will increase to eight times the value for repeat offenders.
A blacklist of states that host flag-of-convenience vessels conducting illegal fishing will also be drawn up, according to the agreement. Worldwide, illegal fishing is estimated to be worth €10 billion annually.
The federation said it was “encouraged” by the measure, but was “very disappointed” that no decision had been taken on the fuel price issue. A review of Celtic Sea cod quotas did not make significant progress, in spite of serious efforts by Ireland and France to secure this, it said. This was “vital” if “scandalous discards of marketable cod were to be reduced”, it said.
Fine Gael fisheries spokesman Michael Creed expressed disappointment at the council’s outcome. He accused “Fianna Fáil Ministers” attending the council of having “failed to deliver the goods”, and said that Fine Gael would move a Private Members’ Motion in the Dáil on the fishing industry crisis next week.