Sir, - I read with disgust (The Irish Times, February 14th) that the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Frank Fahey, attended the launch of our new 144-metre flagship, Atlantic Dawn, in Norway recently. Like all Ministers, Mr Fahey is fond of using "in" phrases such as "sustainable initiatives" when describing Ireland's growing economy. How can he possibly square the launch of this so-called supership with our squealing in Brussels for more quotas for Irish fishermen? Even with latitude, the launch of this vessel could never be described as a sustainable initiative.
All marine ministers in Europe have agreed that over-fishing of the continental shelf has done irreparable damage to fish stocks off the coast of Ireland. This State-supported initiative, which will wreak indiscriminate havoc off the coast of West Africa, is surely not the way forward. The Atlantic Dawn will be capable of harvesting and processing everything from anchovies to horse mackerel and is rightly frowned upon by many west African states. Have we learned nothing from the lessons of our own west coast, or have we latched onto the Spanish ideology that if it swims it dies - even if it is not within our fishing zone - and let others worry about the consequences later?
Nothing in nature happens in isolation, and the continuing development of these super-ships dictate that as one species is fished out, other species higher up the food chain will be damaged. When the coasts of Europe and west Africa have been fished out, ports such as Killybegs and Castletownbeare may resemble the now-silent whaling stations of Antarctica. Where will we go then? As usual, we will send another Minister squealing once more to Brussels. The launch of Atlantic Dawn is an affront to natural environmental law and is certainly not something we should be proud of. Perhaps the owner should reconsider his chosen name for the vessel and rechristen it the Atlantic Dusk! - Yours, etc.,
Mike O'Sullivan, Chairperson, Save Our Lake and Valley Environment, Shanballa, Knocknagree, Co Cork.