Irish fishing industry representatives have expressed great satisfaction with conservation measures agreed early yesterday at the marathon EU fisheries council in Brussels.
"We've been arguing for this for years, and finally the European Commission is going to take it on board," Mr Sean O'Donoghue, chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO), said.
The agreement on an Irish proposal, backed by Britain, will introduce technical conservation measures and recovery programmes instead of ever more drastic annual quota cuts.
The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, said he had "successfully faced down large-scale cuts" which would have wiped £40 million off the value of Irish whitefish catches.
The Minister had done his preparation; his experienced negotiating team lined up bilateral talks with Britain and Northern Ireland over the past 10 days to engage their support.
Severe cuts have been imposed in several whitefish species, including cod and hake. Significantly, however, the ministers signed a declaration supporting the concept of technical conservation measures and recovery programmes, similar to that already initiated for cod in the Irish Sea.
As a result, such programmes may be designed to protect cod off the north-west and hake in the Celtic Sea, with larger mesh sizes and closed areas to protect spawning grounds and juvenile fish.
The Minister also successfully opposed the imposition of quotas on unexploited deepwater species, which the Irish whitefish fleet aims to target. Industry representatives had warned it would jeopardise Ireland's £70 million whitefish fleet renewal programme.
The vessels built under the programme have been encouraged to target new species such as orange roughy, tusk, ling, blue ling and round-nosed grenadier - deepwater stocks which are not under pressure or quota. Although quotas on these species will be discussed again next year, it is expected to be under different parameters.
Ireland had a major influence on the wording of the declaration, Mr O'Donoghue of KFO and Mr Jason Whooley of the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation (ISWFO) said yesterday.
Overall, whitefish quotas have been cut by 14 per cent in volume over 30 species, compared to a 36 per cent cut proposed by the Commission. "Some of these cuts will be very hard to swallow, and it will be difficult, but the bottom line is that the acceptance of technical conservation gives us a future," Mr Whooley said. "We might have a viable fishery in a few years' time."
A new 3,158-tonne quota for albacore tuna worth £8 million a year was also secured. It will involve up to 50 Irish boats - using alternatives to drift-nets which are to be banned on this fishery next year.
The Irish representatives praised the Minister and his negotiating team for keeping in close consultation with the industry up to the small hours of yesterday morning. "We'd have liked to have seen smaller cuts in certain areas, but in fairness to the Minister, he did a decent job," Mr O'Donoghue said.
He was accompanied at the talks by Mr Joey Murrin, who has retired as chief executive of the KFO. Their north-west constituency is already pleased with their share of mackerel and blue whiting, on foot of successful negotiations with Norway recently.