Peace appears to have broken out, even temporarily, following the intervention by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, in the dispute over tuna. This was the first real test for the Minister since being appointed to Cabinet earlier this year. As south-west fishing industry representatives pointed out, the blockades mounted in Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Dingle, Co Kerry, were not just about tuna. Sparked off by the arrest of a fourth Irish vessel in as many weeks by the Naval Service, the demonstrations became an outlet for much anger and frustration over a number of issues relating to Government policy on commercial fishing and EU control of community waters.
The fishermen had much to lose in targeting a Spanish base in Castletownbere for their blockade - Spain buys £37 million, or 16 per cent, of all Irish exported fish. Yet the frustration could be appreciated, when the State had initially been so active in encouraging the drift-net tuna fishery. When the belated interest shown by Ireland, along with Cornwall and France, began to affect Spanish tuna interests, a successful Spanish/US lobbying campaign resulted in an EU ban on the catching method.
The ban was imposed on environmental grounds, to protect dolphins from being snagged. However, three member States, including Ireland, questioned its scientific basis. A case taken to the European Court of Justice was dismissed on technical grounds, but the action had the support of the former Marine minister, Dr Michael Woods.
From his statements, the new Minister appears to have been either unaware of this, or to have his own agenda. He has admitted to being under pressure from the EU on surveillance. That control has reached a new level of sophistication, with the introduction of satellite monitoring of vessels over 24 metres in length. The small seasonal tuna fleet of 18 vessels, which has only two years to run before a complete ban on their catching method, appears to have become a "guinea-pig" for that system. Installation of monitors was a condition of licences this year.
The Minister acknowledged last week that he gave a specific instruction to the Naval Service to monitor Irish tuna vessels. Yet just four days before, his Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, had denied such claims. The Minister has said he has held talks with his Cabinet colleague on increased surveillance and has denied that there is any tension between the two departments. Yet, as the recent row over the White Paper on Defence illustrated, both the Naval Service and Air Corps are already stretched to their limit in the EU's second largest sea area, with resources equivalent to just over one Garda patrol car for the whole island.
All the while, non-Irish vessels have been landing fish regularly into Irish ports, without the same level of inspection - and in some cases without any inspection at all. Small wonder that there has been a breakdown in trust. With two Ministers appearing to be at odds over Government policy, it may take more than a couple of meetings to rebuild that trust again.