Donegal islands study wants driftnet fishing ban eased

A THREE-YEAR plan to save the communities on three Donegal islands urges a limited easing of the 2007 ban on driftnet fishing for salmon.

Catch quotas of other species subject to EU restrictions should also be “ring-fenced” for small island fleets, according to the Donegal Islands Survival Plan 2012-15.

The study, which was presented to Minister of State for Islands Dinny McGinley yesterday, highlights the harsh economic pressures faced by Arranmore, Inishboffin and Tory islands in Donegal.

In Arranmore’s case, the population has declined from 768 residents in 1988 to 487 residents currently, mainly due to limited employment opportunities.

This in turn has affected island safety, as the voluntary Arranmore RNLI lifeboat crew is down by 25 per cent.

“The population is reaching a make-or-break point if its declines any further, and social services will be cut and the schools will close,” the study warns.

A “few simple management measures” could help reverse the decline, which has been exacerbated by EU restrictions on fishing, the study says.

“In the past, fisheries were particularly important to community members for their livelihood and identity, and they have always, as small-scale fishers, harvested using eco-friendly methods.”

As an example, island boats have never had fish discards – a practice EU maritime affairs commissioner Maria Damanaki has been keen to eradicate within “blue Europe”.

Islanders have tended to fish seasonally, using local grounds with which they are well familiar, and using unsold fish as bait.

However, the bizarre nature of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy has forced islanders in recent years to travel for several hours to the mainland to buy high-quality fish as bait, as they are no longer allowed to fish for the non-quota species they used. Not only is this an expensive option for fishermen, but it is also contributing to carbon emissions, the study says.

The study says that the 2006/7 ban on driftnetting for wild salmon hit island livelihoods hard, but it was exacerbated by an increasing number of restrictions on other fish species, including the closing of EU fishery area VIa off the northwest Irish coast.

Island fishermen were limited to fishing for lobster and brown crab, but this put further pressure on these stocks.

“Lack of diversity can underline vulnerability,” as has been found in research on fisheries management in North America, the study says. It recommends that restrictions on fishing in EU area VIa should be eased, as should the wild salmon fishing ban, and a 12-mile marine protection area should be set which restricts access to small-scale fishermen only, with days at sea as the main management system. It says public fund policies prevent locals from upgrading their fleets and adapting to new opportunities.

The European Commission is reviewing the Common Fisheries Policy, but the island communities say they cannot wait for this review due to their critical economic situation. The study also notes Arranmore’s predicament is similar to that on many of the 33 inhabited islands on the 7,800km coastline. Some 75 per cent of island residents are native Irish speakers, embodying a heritage that is under severe pressure.

The plan for the Donegal islands was compiled by local community and fishing interests with the support of Alyne Delaney of Aalborg University, Denmark, Brian O’Riordan of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, the Gaia Foundation and the European Small Islands Federation.