This State's approach towards its marine resource is emerging on the political agenda - at least for the duration of the European election campaign. With the good days nearly over for the farming community, Strasbourg candidates have been forced to take a greater interest in management of the EU's second largest sea area.
But is it too late? Are Irish waters not under-policed and over-fished, with discriminatory EU regulations giving little scope to skippers who want to expand? "No," says Mr Pat Fitzpatrick, an Aran island skipper and chairman of the Galway and Aran Fishermen's Co-operative, who has just taken one of the biggest gambles of his life. He has just signed a contract with a yard in Spain for a £2 million 24-metre boat.
Ten years ago, Pat Fitzaptrick purchased a 1968 beam trawler, Glenravel which he converted to a stern trawler. Now he is a participant in the Government's whitefish renewal scheme.
Initiated by the previous administration, and carried through by the current Minister, Dr Woods, the scheme will allow for construction of 30 new vessels in the whitefish fleet - the first time there has been such building in 15 years.
Mr Fitzpatrick accepts he will have to begin exploiting non-quota species to make the vessel pay. In turn, the Government will have to secure a bigger share of those species subject to quota restrictions during the annual talks in Brussels. He also believes Government support for Bord Iascaigh Mhara's recently published Agenda 2000 plan is crucial to the industry's long-term future.
Published early in March, the BIM document is one of a dozen such studies on EU structural fund expenditure which has been submitted to the Department of Finance with a view to influencing the forthcoming national development plan. It notes that the marine sector receives only 1 per cent of EU structural funds, but yields more pro rata in jobs and export terms than investment in agriculture.
Whereas EU and State expenditure can be up to £25,000 a year on every farm worker, it is only £1,500 per employee in fisheries and fish farming. The plan says that a doubling of annual EU and State expenditure on the marine should increase employment in the most peripheral regions by up to 20 per cent over the next seven years.
If accepted and translated into national economic policy, the plan would ensure that Pat Fitzpatrick can make his new boat pay. Einne, Mr Fitzpatrick is one of just 10 skippers still living on Aran. Eight of his colleagues have been forced to move to Rossaveal, Galway's fishing port on the mainland, because of the lack of a sheltered deepwater berth.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that tourism, rather than fishing, is perceived to be Aran's main economic activity.
Pat Fitzpatrick also believes there could be scope for more processing - an issue dealt with in the BIM plan. If investment was increased to the level recommended, processing output could increase from £213 million annually to £367 million.
Exports could also increase from £228 million annually to £370 million, according to the BIM projections. As the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources has noted on several occasions recently, the growth would benefit not just coastal communities, but local towns where plants could be located.
The official response to a separate piece of research commissioned by the Marine Institute could also have implications for Mr Fitzpatrick's future. Undertaken by Mr David Meredith, who is on contract to the institute, the pilot case study of the Rossaveal region is due to be published shortly.
It has found that management regulations and legislation fail to comprehend the needs of fishing crews in the area; and that there is concern about the potential impact of increased fishing efforts by both Irish and foreign vessels further offshore. Significantly, it also notes that families of fishermen, particularly those with a husband, father or brothers working on larger vessels, believe their quality of life has deteriorated considerably in recent years due to increasing amounts of time spent at sea.
But before he starts to hear any sort of a whinge in his voice, Pat Fitzpatrick stops himself. "The French, the Spanish, the Dutch have seen the potential in Irish waters throughout the years, and it is time we did ourselves - and stopped blaming everyone else."