UP to 70 Irish fishing vessels will be subject to satellite monitoring from 1998 following the agreement secured by Ireland at the EU Fisheries Council in Brussels.
The measure, tightening controls on fishing activity of vessels over 24 metres, has been given cautious approval by Irish industry representatives. Several EU states, including Denmark and Britain, had expressed strong opposition to satellite monitoring.
Irish representatives have also welcomed the fish quota deal secured by the Minister for the Marine, Mr Barrett, at the final council, yesterday morning. The Minister has described the increase of 2,730 tonnes in fish allocations as an "outstanding success".
The satellite monitoring was brokered by the Irish presidency against all odds on Thursday evening. Owners of vessels over 24 metres in overall length, or 20 metres between perpendiculars, will receive full funding for purchase and installation only. Its first phase will affect the Irish mackerel fleet and those large EU vessels working in non-EU waters. Only in the second phase will Spain be brought into the satellite net.
Mr Donal O'Driscoll, chairman of the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation, said the system could only assist in conservation. However, he also called on Mr Barrett to ensure that the Naval Service administered the system here.
A decision on proposed fleet cuts of up to 40 per cent being sought by the European Commission was deferred at the council.
Commenting from Brussels, Mr Martin Howley, of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO), congratulated the Irish presidency on devising a compromise proposal on fleet cuts. "The 40 per cent cut in fleets is now dead and buried," he added.
The Fianna Fail MEP, Mr Pat the Cope Gallagher, said he was pleased that no decision on fleet cuts had been taken. He hoped the interim period could be "used to consult widely and to establish the socio-economic implications of such a measure".
There was no great surprise in the quota deal which leaves mackerel and herring allocations at this year's levels, while bringing in some increases in the whitefish sector. Mr Barrett said it represented a "much-needed and valuable gain, particularly for the south and south-west north and north-west, where these high value species are extensively fished".
Under a separate EU agreement secured with Norway, the Killybegs super trawler fleet is expected to receive part of a 130,000 share of Atlantic-Scando herring. It will be able to catch some of it in Norwegian waters and land into Norway and the Faroe Islands. This was described as "a welcome toe in the door that we never had before" by Mr Joey Murrin, chief executive of the KFO.
Meanwhile, Mr Mark Lochrin, of the Irish Fish Producers' Organisation, expressed concern about the decision by the Department of the Marine to advertise for 10 additional sea fishery officers who must hold third-level qualifications. This suggested a "further criminalisation of a business sector".
Gerry Moriarty adds:
Northern Ireland politicians and fisheries representatives have issued a guarded welcome to the EU deal on fish quotas which almost halved the original proposed cuts in quotas. The British government denied the deal was directly linked to the Ulster Unionist Party's support for the British government in the crucial Commons fisheries vote on Monday night.
Mr William Ross, the Ulster Unionist Party fisheries spokesman, said Northern Ireland appeared to have come out of the agreement "as well as could be expected". The SDLP MP, Mr Eddie McGrady, welcomed the decision but said there must be no further cuts in quotas.
