Dutch freezer trawlers inspected by Irish authorities

Two Dutch “supertrawlers” which have quotas to fish in Irish waters have been inspected by the Irish authorities, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has confirmed.

Joint Naval Service/SFPA inspections of the Annelies Ilena, formerly the Irish-owned Atlantic Dawn and the Margiris took place within the past week – on December 12th and 14th.

Weather conditions had hampered previous inspection plans, and it is understood both vessels were found to be compliant.

The freezer ships are among a fleet of Dutch vessels with an annual quota for pelagic or mid-water species such as mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting in Irish waters.

Two years ago, the Naval Service detained the Annelies Ilena on suspicion of "high grading" or selecting only larger fish.

Although the “high grading” charge was subsequently dropped, the skipper was fined € 105,000 for other technical offences.

The discarding of fish by pelagic vessels is now banned, but the Irish Wildlife Trust has expressed concern about mortalities of cetaceans – as in whales and dolphins – during by-catch, and has called on the Government to ensure observers are put on board.

Under EU rules, this can only be requested by a flag state – as in the country of vessel registration – and there is currently no legal requirement for observers on vessels.

The Dutch Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association, which says its vessels adhere to “gold standards” in sustainable fishing, has recently said it would have “no problem” with observers if this system was applied to all such “pelagic” vessels fishing in European waters.