Woods demands action on fishery

The European Commissioner for Fisheries, Ms Emma Bonino, has come under fire from the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, over management of the lucrative fishery for blue whiting off the Irish coast.

The EU's recent decision to close the fishery temporarily has been ignored by several member-states, which have continued catching, while Ireland's fleet has obeyed the directive.

Dr Woods has demanded immediate EU action in a letter sent to the Commissioner yesterday. In response, the European Commission issued an instruction to all member-states involved in blue whiting fishing to stop immediately. It is understood that Britain was the only state not complying with the directive by close of business yesterday.

The Fianna Fail MEP for Connacht-Ulster, Mr Pat "The Cope" Gallagher, has also expressed concern about the situation, and has said Irish fishermen are being discriminated against.

Blue whiting is a developing and potentially valuable fishery for the £100 million Killybegs super-trawler fleet, and some seven vessels landed 46,000 tonnes of the fish last year.

Bord Iascaigh Mhara has been sponsoring trials to develop the species - normally sold as fishmeal - for human consumption.

The row erupted when the total allowable catch for the species expired, and the EU's fisheries directorate ordered the fishery's closure for the rest of this year. Scottish, Dutch and Norwegian vessels continued to land blue whiting into Scotland, even as Irish vessels returned to port, according to the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation.

Norway has been given a share of the EU catch under a bilateral agreement with the EU, and three Norwegian vessels working on blue whiting have already been apprehended this year by the Naval Service.

In a statement, Dr Woods said it was "totally unacceptable" for some member-states to continue fishing when they had a clear mandatory obligation to stop under EU law. "I share the anger and frustration of our fishermen," Dr Woods said, adding that he has demanded an immediate response from Commissioner Bonino.