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Fishing industry expresses no confidence in Sea Fisheries Protection Authority

5/11/2021

 

Catch weighing fiasco is final straw for frustrated fishermen
​

 
The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority is not fit for purpose and needs to be reset as a matter of urgency, according to the representative groups for Ireland’s fishing and fish processing industry.

Speaking ahead of a Joint Oireachtas Committee hearing tomorrow (Tuesday, May 11th), industry representatives were scathingly critical of the organisation, which was established as independent statutory body responsible for the regulation of the sea-fisheries and the seafood production sectors but has failed miserably to do this in an effective manner. As a consequence, it has effectively wreaked havoc upon the industry.

The most recent example involves Irish fishermen, who were left completely stunned and extremely annoyed at changes in practices around weighing catch on piers which were foisted on the industry with zero consultation from 13th April last, based on a European Commission Decision.

“We are simply flabbergasted that this bewildering move which has such a direct and draconian impact on all aspects of Irish fisheries, could be considered without any advance notice. Moreover, we have not been given access to any information to justify this crude action by the Commission. In fact, we have been explicitly denied access to any reports or correspondence between the Commission, DAFM and the SFPA on this issue.”
“This ‘bombshell’ has the potential to have a massive negative impact on the pelagic, demersal and shellfish sectors and will not be accepted by industry. We are calling on our line Minister and wider Government as well as the SFPA to immediately put right this ludicrous scenario which they should not have created in the first instance” stated the five organisations.

The committee will also probe the findings of a PwC report into the organisational capability of the SFPA published last year, which found that: “the SFPA is not working effectively and requires urgent attention….. Relationships and trust have been impacted by a range of issues…. Relationships with various stakeholders, to lesser or greater degrees, are challenging. These issues are impacting performance and the organisation is not operating as a cohesive unit….. In the short term, this will require the SFPA to reset the dial, both in terms of the strategic plan for the organisation and its interactions with staff and stakeholders. This is critical.” [1]

​This joint statement was issued on behalf of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO), Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO), Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation (ISEFPO), the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation (ISWFPO) and the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association (IFPEA).


[1] https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/debates/questions/supportingDocumentation/2020-10-15_pq303-15-10-20_en.pdf

Burden sharing imperative for survival of Irish fishermen

2/10/2021

 
Government must urgently redouble its effort
The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) has reacted angrily to suggestions from the European Commission that there would be no reallocation of fish stocks between EU countries to ease the burden faced by Ireland, post Brexit.

Charlina Vitcheva, Director-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries defended the fact that Ireland is contributing €40million of the €184million of fish being transferred by the EU to the UK stating, “we’ve been trying to level out the burden between the member states concerned, but inevitably Ireland is so much closer and so much interlinked in terms of fisheries activities with the UK, so it is inevitable.”

However KFO CEO, Seán O’Donoghue has taken umbrage at the comments stating that this is an ill-informed comment that does not stand up to a factual analysis of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and there is no way that Ireland is going to tolerate a situation whereby its fishermen are thrown to the wolves on the double, as a result of Brexit.

 “We have formally requested our Government to go back to Brussels and initiate an immediate process whereby the eight other EU coastal countries step up to the plate to take a proportionate hit on fisheries as part of the Brexit deal. We believe that the pain must be shared equally, as was stated by the European Fisheries Alliance (EUFA) when it set out in its mission statement that no single sector should bear a disproportionate burden once Brexit was done. The Government must redouble its efforts in light of Director-General’s poorly-judged remark.

“Before Brexit, about 30% of fish caught by the Irish fleet was from UK waters. This was cut by an average of 13% in the deal but our two main fisheries mackerel and prawns were cut by 26% and 14% respectively. In comparison, the Belgian fleet which caught over 50% of its fish in UK waters and is facing an average reduction of only 6%. The Danish fleet, which caught under 50% in UK waters, is facing average reduction of 8% and the French fleet which caught about 36% in UK waters is facing an average reduction of just 6%.

“Brexit has resulted in a UK fishing windfall of €184million from the EU which consists of a staggering €40million - with mackerel at €26million and prawns at €7million making up almost 83% of this figure of Irish fish gift-wrapped for the UK. Based on a simple burden sharing equation with the nine member states involved, Ireland should be shouldering a loss of €20million - not €40million as was foisted upon us.

“There is a precedent for achieving this and it harks back to the mid-1970s when ironically, the UK benefited from a process of reducing the percentage quota share of other member states in order to protect its fishing sector. It also benefited from the Hague Preferences which gave both the UK and Ireland additional tonnage of certain species. Burden sharing or ‘equalisation’ as it was known, saw Britain compensated for forfeiting certain stocks and grounds to the tune of 90,000 tonnes of fish valued at €80million which came from the other Member States.

“Our ask now is that the EU revisits this policy traditionally referred to as jurisdictional and third country losses/gains and Hague Preferences and applies the same rationale and fairness in order to render our key fisheries viable after the crippling and unsustainable divvied out by Brexit.

“In the waters off Donegal alone for instance, an eye-watering 82% of stocks in tonnage terms - both pelagic (mackerel, herring and blue whiting) and demersal species (monkfish, megrim, haddock, cod and saithe) - have been forfeited to Britain in the crudest and most brutal example of how Brexit has shafted fishermen in the North West”,

“What’s perhaps most galling about the loss of mackerel is that the fish are spawned in Irish waters. While we cannot nor do not claim ownership of them, we’re now being discriminated against catching the fish off the coast of Scotland when they are in their prime and at their most valuable as a result of the 26% reduction in our quota. In essence, we’re providing the fish for Britain to net, we’re a ‘mackerel maternity ward’ for others to profit from. We now have a miserly share of 16% whereas the UK - mainly Scotland - has 70%”. stated Mr O’Donoghue.

He concluded his remarks by imploring the Irish Government as well as Irish MEPs to urgently redouble their efforts on burden sharing with the other member states and take the Commission to task in order to ease the crippling angst and sustained uncertainty being visited upon fishermen here.


ENDS
Further information
Seán O’Donoghue
087 4196535

Brexit deal fails Irish fishermen

12/24/2020

 

KFO demands compensation in mackerel quota transfer from other EU members
The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) has said the Brexit deal reached this evening has demonstrated the duplicitous nature of these protracted negotiations and expressed its dismay at how repeated guarantees given to Irish fishermen have, effectively been shredded.

Having secured a host of written commitments in official documents pertaining to the fisheries sector post-Brexit, KFO Chief Executive, Seán O’Donoghue said four and a half years of agreements had for all intents and purposes, been dishonoured by the negotiators.  

Mr O’Donoghue stated:

“We cannot stand idly by and allow decades of investment in developing a successful enterprise, to be sacrificed by the shape of this very poor deal.

“In spite of a seismic effort to redress the imbalance of the proposed deal in recent days, not enough has changed and our highly-developed mackerel fishery stands to lose out dramatically. While the full detail of the text is not yet available, it will require very close examination and analysis. Make no mistake - we will be seeking compensation from our EU colleagues to put right this grievous wrong.
“We won’t accept this. Moreover, we fully expect the Irish Government to deliver the requisite compensation in the form of transfer of mackerel quota from the other EU coastal states which pro rata, have seen a much less severe impact on their respective mackerel fisheries,” he concluded.

​
ENDS
Further information:
Seán O’Donoghue
087 4196535

Government must not stand idly by and sacrifice Irish fishing industry

12/21/2020

 
KFO aghast at proposal to throw fisheries ‘under the bus’
​
The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) has implored the Irish Government to honour the commitment made to the fishing sector in the mandate given to EU Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier.
Having invested more than four years in ensuring that fisheries remained at the very heart of the talks, KFO Chief Executive, Seán O’Donoghue said that all that work is now in serious jeopardy.

Mr O’Donoghue stated:
“The shape of a deal, as currently stands will spell the ruination of the Irish seafood sector which directly supports more than 16,000 jobs and is worth more than €1.2billion annually to the Irish economy. Our industry is literally and metaphorically on the brink and in spite of repeated promises made, we are in the throes of being sold down the river.

“The one thing we wanted to avoid was a ‘no-deal’ situation in the interests of all our fishermen but the deal which is now being proposed is every bit as bad. We are looking at vicious and unprecedented cuts on our pelagic, shellfish and whitefish stocks. *

“This is galling and if the Irish Government doesn’t stand up for its fishermen and honour its written agreement made during the arduous Brexit negotiations, it could spell the death knell for an industry which has contributed so much to coastal communities. Our fishermen must be protected as they risk life and limb to provide fresh food in the most unforgiving environment on earth.
“While our industry has faced down many serious, serious challenges down through the years and has proven itself to be resilient, versatile and determined, this is a desperate slap in the face and potentially the single-biggest and most catastrophic setback of our time.”

ENDS
Further information:
Seán O’Donoghue
087 4196535
 
* Pelagic stocks consist of mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting and herring while whitefish includes cod, haddock, whiting, monkfish, megrim, hake, plaice, sole and nephrops (Dublin Bay prawns). 

Brexit uncertainty to severely hamper fisheries negotiations

12/14/2020

 
Unprecedented backdrop for annual EU fisheries council talks
The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) has expressed a note of caution ahead of the annual meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers which commences in Brussels tomorrow (Tuesday, December 15th).  It believes that an industry already in a state of heightened anxiety regarding Brexit is now in a nigh impossible situation to chart its course for 2021, when the future impact of Brexit on the sector remains unknown. The negotiations to set Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas for the year ahead, take place over two days, (December 15th and 16th).

Seán O’Donoghue, CEO of the KFO said: “Exactly 12 months ago, we made reference to the ‘metaphorical calm before the storm’ against which last year’s Council outcome was delivered. That storm in the form of Brexit, has still not passed. While we remain hopeful that a deal will be reached, we believe that setting three-month quotas based on last year, for the first quarter of next year, will cause a major problem.
Seasonal fisheries such as mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting are predominantly worked in the first quarter of the year so instructing fishermen that they can only catch 60% of their allocations during ‘peak season’, is neither credible nor realistic.

We also have a major issue around the ‘Hague Preferences’ which have routinely seen the UK and ourselves, secure an additional increase in volume in key stocks. As the UK will no longer form part of the EU’s TACs and quotas system after December 31st, it is critical that Ireland’s Hague Preferences are copper-fastened and that the Hague Agreement of 1976 - particularly Annex VII - continues to be fully honoured.

There are other complex strands to the negotiations around shared stocks of which there are 119 out of 146 divided with the UK. This will require a bilateral with the UK and also a trilateral between the EU, Norway and the UK as well as a bilateral between EU and Norway. None of these negotiations have happened due the protracted Brexit backdrop. This is a Council like nothing which has ever gone before,” concluded Mr O’Donoghue.

The KFO held a lengthy meeting with Minister Charlie McConalogue in Donegal last week ahead of this week’s Fisheries Council which for the first time, it cannot attend in person. It will support his endeavours to deliver the best deal possible in terms of sustainable and economically viable fishing opportunities for Ireland for 2021. However, the caveat remains that this is nigh impossible without a final conclusion of Brexit negotiations.


Further information:
Seán O’Donoghue
087 4196535

Britain can’t have its cake and eat it

10/11/2020

 

UK cannot expect to retain EU membership fishing benefits, post-Brexit
​

The complexity of moulding Britain’s future relationship with the EU is nowhere more evident than in fisheries where the UK cannot expect to retain the privileges of membership while blocking its erstwhile European colleagues from its waters and doubling its catch. That’s according to Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) CEO, Seán O’Donoghue who said it would be rank hypocrisy for the UK to expect to slam the door and keep the gains it enjoyed while part of the EU.

Mr O’Donoghue is adamant that the UK should no longer benefit from the additional fishing opportunities it was granted after joining the EEC in 1973, particularly when the total allowable caches and quotas were decided in the early eighties.

After the UK joined the European Union, it was compensated for potential losses of fishing opportunities in third country waters due to the extension of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in 1976 to 200 miles. This amounted to 26% (volume) increase in fishing opportunities covering seven species, added to the UK historical catches in establishing its final percentage share out known as relative stability. These additional opportunities were duly taken out of the share of other member states.

Mr O’Donoghue said: “When you leave a club, you relinquish the privileges that were afforded to you when you were a member. It’s a simple as that. It is crystal clear, the 26% increase in fishing opportunities which was granted by the EU to the UK should end with UK membership.

“With Britain now playing hardball on fisheries and fighting to doubling its catch, the EU negotiators must clearly spell out that the starting point in any fisheries negotiations has to exclude any additional catches it obtained, as part of the EU.  On top of this, the UK was also in receipt of another inducement in the shape of ‘Hague Preferences’ which amounts to an additional increase in volume in certain stocks.

“All four Irish producer organisations will be making that point to the Taoiseach, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine tomorrow (Monday) when we meet to discuss the potential impact of Brexit on our industry,” concluded Mr O’Donoghue.

The KFO position is fully supported by the European Fisheries Alliance (EUFA) * which is roundly calling for the UK not to enjoy both independent coastal state status and the benefits of EU membership.
ENDS
Further information:
 
Seán O’Donoghue
087 4196535
 
* The European Fisheries Alliance (EUFA), which was established less than two months after the British vote to exit the EU, sets out to protect the interests of fleets from national organisations in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden. The alliance accounts for over 18,000 fishermen and 3,500 vessels with an annual turnover €20.7 billion. 
​

Irish Government intent on heaping hardship on beleaguered fishermen

10/2/2020

 

​Fisheries sector facing twin threats of Brexit and penalty points
​

As the Irish fishing industry teeters on the brink facing its biggest ever crisis in the form of Brexit, our Government has incredulously decided to heap further misery on fishermen by rejecting an annulment of highly controversial penalty points legislation. That’s according to the four Irish fish producer organisations which were reacting following the defeat of a Sinn Féin motion in Dáil Éireann on Wednesday last (September 30th). 

“The response of both Minister Charlie McConalogue and the Taoiseach who actually signed the Statutory Instrument (SI), has been at best dismissive, at worst contemptuous and glib. At a time when our industry, which is worth more than €1.2billion per annum to our economy, stands on the precipice facing its biggest threat since the foundation of the state with Brexit, it is simply appalling that our own Government would distract us from working to represent our members in the face of cavalier British attitude. Minister McConalogue, given his time as opposition shadow and constituency base on the shores of Lough Foyle, ‘gets’ this issue both personally and politically. In fact, he successfully voted against it just over two years ago. *

“While we have received a huge level of political support for our plight, including from many Government backbenchers which was heartening, ultimately they voted against rescinding the dastardly legislation thus rendering useless, their verbal commitment. We have always said that we are in favour of a penalty points system it must be a system which is fair and in accordance with our own legal system. The turgid history of this legislation make grim reading, it has been repealed in the Supreme Court in 2017, tabled by the last Government in May 2018, stridently opposed by then opposition spokesperson, Charlie McConalogue as well as his Fianna Fáil colleagues and now out of the blue, foisted on us by Fianna Fáil more than two years later with no communication nor consultation,” said the joint statement issued by the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO), Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO), Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation (ISEFPO) and the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation (ISWFPO)

The four organisations declared that their industry is simply apoplectic and won’t give up the fight stating that it’s still not too late for the SI to be amended as a matter of urgency. They said they are more than willing to immediately sit down with the Minister to address the four key offending parts. “These offending parts must be removed or changed such as the burden of proof to be changed to beyond reasonable doubt; no right of appeal to High Court except on a point of law; incredibly, even if the fisherman is successful in the High Court, the penalty points would still remain on the licence and the removal of multiple points being applied when the capacity of the vessel is split,” concluded the statement.

Further information:
 
Seán O’Donoghue (Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation)
087 4196535
 
John Ward (Irish Fish Producers Organisation)
087 2548520
 
Hugo Boyle (Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation)
086 0222090
 
Patrick Murphy (Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation)
086 2360001

KFO enraged at Government penalty points U-turn

8/30/2020

 

Taoiseach must urgently amend legislation

​Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) CEO, Seán O’Donoghue has stated that the fishing industry is livid that Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, acting as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, enacted highly controversial penalty points legislation yesterday (Friday) with zero consultation with fishermen and in spite of having stridently opposed it, while in opposition.

“This is quite simply, a scandalous and a very misguided step by the Taoiseach. We have made our point regarding the penalty points measure on numerous occasions and we were  fully supported by Fianna Fáil when they were in opposition. We are not against a penalty points regime since it is an EU requirement but there must be an equitable manner of administering this.

“Page 82 of the current Programme for Government commits to ‘Implement a fair EU points system in order to protect fish stocks and ensure the release of suspended EU funding.’ This signing of the Statutory Instrument (SI) by the Taoiseach has come completely out of the blue and putting it mildly, is neither fair nor reasonable and runs contrary to the Programme for Government of introducing a fair system.
“Our industry is simply apoplectic. The SI must be amended and the offending parts removed such as the burden of proof to be changed to beyond reasonable doubt, no right of appeal to High Court except on a point of law and incredibly, even if the fisherman is successful in the High Court, the penalty points would still remain on the licence,” concluded Mr O’Donoghue.

Further information:
 
Seán O’Donoghue
087 4196535

Creed rejects fisheries sector plea for COVID-19 support

5/22/2020

 

Producer organisations accuse Minister of ‘failing to recognise the gravity of unprecedented crisis’
​

In rejecting impassioned appeals for specific COVID supports from a beleaguered fishing industry which is fighting for its very survival in the face of the pandemic, Agriculture Minister Michael Creed and his officials have effectively turned their back on the sector. That’s the view of the four fish producer organisations which form the backbone of a €1.22 billion industry which supports more than 16,150 jobs in this country and is endeavouring to continue providing seafood to a market which has crashed on a multitude of levels.

“Earlier this month, the Minister did announce a Covid-19 Voluntary Fleet Tie-up Scheme which is completely unfit for purpose. Instead of achieving the key objective of matching current supply and demand, the scheme will do the reverse with very little voluntary uptake as almost all vessels will continue to fish thus making an already over supplied market worse. Crucially, not one single cent of new financial support is being made available to the industry. We have met with the Minister and his officials and set out clearly what we need to survive this pandemic. Moreover, we have already successfully lobbied at EU level to have amendments to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund provided for under EU Regulation 2020/560 to mitigate the impact of the COVID‐19 outbreak,” said Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation Chief Executive, Seán O’Donoghue.
​
“Like many others, fishermen are struggling desperately, in the new ‘normal’ that we find ourselves in. Demand has fallen to such an extent that some fishermen are actually receiving no bids for the fish that they have risked life and limb, to catch. The closure of sales venues, such as restaurants, markets and other outlets, has seen prices for all fish plummet. Over the last few weeks, the price drop across many popular species has been in the region of 50% to 70%,” he continued.

“This has created a serious and unprecedented crisis for Irish fishermen. As an industry, we have never faced anything like it. The capitulation in demand and prices combined with the vulnerability and complexity of the supply chain has made the operations of fishing fleets and seafood production, a loss-making enterprise.”

Mr O’Donoghue said that the industry is, nonetheless, doing everything in its power to ensure consumers continue to have access to essential nutrition in the form of high-quality sustainable seafood. It has stepped up to the plate also to protect fishermen through increased health and safety restrictions and extensive surveillance and monitoring of crew.

“The entire industry is united in our unequivocal rejection of a botched and ultimately useless ‘scheme’ which does nothing to provide reassurance to fishermen. We’ve been endeavouring to try to manage a safe passage through Brexit and its consequences, now we’re hit with this. I’ve never witnessed anger like it in the sector and I’d implore the Minister to review the scheme, deliver the very basic support that we need to survive. We are more than willing to meet him halfway and continue to operate, thereby providing a sustainable and very important food supply,” concluded Mr O’Donoghue.

Further information:
Seán O’Donoghue
087 419 6535

KFO welcomes EU legislative measures to help maintain seafood supply

4/2/2020

 

Emergency additional financial support now imperative to manage unprecedented COVID-19 crisis
​

​The Killybegs Fisheries Organisation (KFO) has said it welcomes a suite of emergency measures proposed by the EU Commission today (Thursday, April 2nd) which endeavour to mitigate the adverse effects of an industry placed in serious peril by the COVID-19 crisis and to provide reassurance to the market. However, the Organisation emphasised it is now imperative additional financial supports are put in place forthwith, to complement these measures.

Chief Executive, Seán O’Donoghue said that the combination of simultaneous challenges around vessels being tied-up as well as seismic difficulties around the market price collapse and lack of cold storage for products has created the perfect, horrendous storm for the fisheries sector. The measures, which have to be still approved by both the EU Council and the European Parliament should be immediately implemented by the Minister recognising that the Commission-proposed measures are backdated to February 1st, 2020.

He stated: “We are hugely concerned at the ability of our members to continue to supply safe and healthy seafood and welcome today’s measures which allow the sector to continue to operate in the short-term in this unprecedented crisis.”

“We are literally and metaphorically in uncharted waters. This legislative package provides some solace for our members who are trying to keep the supply of food as constant as possible in the chaos which is encircling us all. However, we must be clear. It merely allows Member States more flexibility in reassigning and transferring unused funds which were already ring-fenced for our industry under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). No new funding has been provided today, that quite simply must be the next move from the Commission if we are to have a any semblance of a viable fisheries sector supplying healthy seafood post COVID-19. As it stands, fish prices have plummeted by up to 50% at a time when EU Governments are keen for the sector to continue to supply the market with a vital, safe and healthy food supply.

We commend the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and his officials for their work in liaising with our EU counterparts but implore that their efforts are redoubled to deliver meaningful, additional financial support as the crisis continues.

“Like so many industries, we are crippled by the chaotic and devastating ripple effects of COVID-19 and are both stunned and shocked at the consequences of what this pandemic has set in motion. We stand four-square behind our frontline workers, our Government as well as EU and indeed global leaders, as they seek to restrict the spread of the virus.”
​
ENDS
Seán O’Donoghue - 087 4196535
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