Uncertain time for McHugh ship

Europe's largest fishing vessel, Atlantic Dawn, is still working on a temporary permit off west Africa, due to the European Commission's concern about overcapacity in the Irish fleet.

The Department of the Marine and Natural Resources has been involved in intensive negotiations with the EU on the future of the £50 million vessel (€63.49 million), almost a year after its Irish owner, Mr Kevin McHugh, took delivery of it. The vessel is not on the Irish or European sea fishing boat registers, and its latest short-term licence, which excludes it from fishing EU waters, expires on September 30th next.

The vessel is on the mercantile register but it is understood that the European Commission has questioned the legality of this. A European Commission spokeswoman told The Irish Times it could not comment as it was a matter for the Government. The Department of the Marine has said the issue is the subject of negotiations with the EU. Mr McHugh declined to comment.

The Green MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna has accused the Government of "being completely irresponsible" in awarding it a short-term licence when the Irish fleet is, she says, "already fishing over capacity".

The Department of the Marine has been discussing the size of the pelagic (mackerel and herring) fleet with the EU, and the European Commission is currently considering proposals for "adjusting" these objectives to allow for exploitation of opportunities in west African waters.

"EU law stipulates that a vessel must be on the EU register to be given a fishing licence. Since the EU fleet is in a state of severe over-capacity, each member-state must abide by a legally-binding programme to reduce its domestic fleet," Ms McKenna said. "Ireland was already behind schedule when the Irish authorities decided to grant a licence to the Atlantic Dawn. This is completely irresponsible and should be challenged."

The private agreement between Mr McHugh and Mauritania poses a "serious problem", because the vessel cannot be monitored by the EU, she said. "Unless the terms of the agreement are made public, it is impossible to know how much of what species the Dawn is allowed to catch, and what kind of environmental impact the catches are having, and how much is being paid in access fees," she continued. "This is the crux of the problem. The world's largest unlicensed fishing vessel flies a European flag, but the European public institutions have no means at their disposal for evaluating its activities."

Ms McKenna obtained her information under the Freedom of Information Act. A similar request made by The Irish Times to the Department for access to the records was refused.

This is the latest of several setbacks for Atlantic Dawn since it steamed into Dublin port from Norway last September. The vessel, Europe's largest of its type, was built to fish under EU "third country" or international agreements. These agreements with non-EU states to fish in their waters are funded by the Common Fisheries Policy budget and designed to meet a growing world demand for fish - while also dealing conveniently with overcapacity among European fleets.

Mauritania is one of several states which have sold off fishing rights. It has one of the world's richest coastal fishing areas. The EU agreement involved payment of €1 per kilo of fish taken, with rights to catch up to 250,000 tonnes of fish there annually.

These agreements have been running into trouble, due to pressure on stocks. The EU's arrangement with Morocco was the first to fall apart, during its renegotiation in 1995. When Mr McHugh was ready to take delivery of Atlantic Dawn, he equipped it for both purse seining and midwater trawling and aimed to target sardinella, mackerel and horse mackerel for its 7,000 tonne hold.

However, he found he couldn't take advantage of the EU-Mauritania accord, and was forced to make a private contract with the Mauritanian government.