KFO was pleased at the final outcome of the Fisheries Council concluded in the small hours of this morning in Brussels after intensive negotiations over two days.  In advance of the meeting KFO voiced fears that the proposed TAC & Quota cuts would have disastrous consequences for the Irish fishing industry, with knock-on effects on employment, seafood processing and ancillary industries.  However, the Council concluded with many proposed cuts either eliminated or reversed leaving Ireland with a net gain of around 10% above 2015 quotas.
Speaking after the Council, Sean O’Donoghue, CEO, said:
“The outcome of the Fisheries Council was very positive especially for the whitefish sector where many proposed cuts were averted.  Not only will this have a positive impact on the fishing sector but it will safeguard employment and investment in the processing industry.  I must congratulate Minister Coveney and his team, including BIM and the Marine Institute, for the huge effort made over the last few days.
In recent years our pelagic stocks have been decided over a series of meetings earlier in the year and we have known where we stood with stocks such as mackerel, Ireland’s most valuable fishery, and Boarfish, for several months but we had work to do to finalise the quota for blue whiting. Herring in the northwest has also been a problem for the past year with a closure in the area. We appreciate the effort Minister Coveney has put into making sure that by the end of February we will have a TAC of 2000 to 3000 tonnes to facilitate a rebuilding programme for this stock.
 We are pleased with the increased quota of 24550 tonnes for 2016 but feel  our position has been completely undermined by the actions of the EU Commission which concluded a separate agreement with Norway unbeknown to the Council of Ministers and, in addition, transferred a further 25,000 tonnes of blue whiting to Norway. This has resulted in a two-tier blue whiting TAC with one for Norway and another lower one at the MSY level for the EU.  This is not acceptable and should not have been done by the Commission even though they have the power to do so.”
  
ENDS
 
 
Contact Details:-
Sean O’Donoghue, CEO Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation    087 – 4196535 or 074 97 31089

Next Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th of December the Council of Fisheries Ministers meets in Brussels to decide on the TACs and Quotas for 2016.   The KFO is calling on Minister Coveney to ensure that  the Commission’s proposed cuts for certain key stocks are reversed or phased in over a period time up to 2020 as provided for in the new Common Fisheries Policy.   These cuts if adopted next week by the Council of Fisheries Ministers could result in up to 325 fulltime and part-time jobs losses in the fisheries sector and ancillaries services. The resulting direct and indirect financial losses are approximately €23.5 million and this does not include the 15% reduction in the TAC for mackerel already agreed with Norway and Faros.
Sean O Donoghue CEO said:
“I very concerned about the outcome of this year’s Fisheries Council particularly for certain pelagic (blue whiting and herring) and demersal (nephrops, cod, haddock and whiting) stocks of interest to Ireland.   As the blue whiting negotiations that have taken place since October have yielded no result I am calling on Minister Coveney to ensure that the EU percentage share of blue whiting is significantly increased to reflect the reality that the blue whiting fishery is mainly caught in the waters off the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland.  The zero TAC for herring in the North West that was in place this year which does not reflect the large shoals of herring that our fishermen are experiencing cannot be accepted to continue for next year.”
 
 
He added:  “There is a large amount of uncertainty about the Commission’s proposals this year with 25 stocks (45%) of interest to Ireland where the Commission has not yet made its proposals and the quota uplifts that are to apply to species coming under the landing obligation from the 1st January 2015 have not have been included.  The quota uplifts are extremely important for nephrops and whiting.    Furthermore the Commission’s proposals fail to recognise that the new CFP allows for the phasing in of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) up to 2020.   If this had been done the proposed cuts in some our key stocks would almost be eliminated or significantly reduced and I expect Minister Coveney to take full account of this phasing.   I recognise that when the state of the stock requires it there must be reductions in the fishing opportunities for particular stocks.   However it is my contention in relation to a number of the reductions proposed on our key stocks are both unjustifiable and unacceptable.”
The KFO expects as in previous years after the usual battles with other Member States that the Hague Preferences which sees Ireland and the UK getting elevated quotas for a number of key species when reductions are proposed, will be delivered.
The KFO with other Producer Organisations will be meeting Minister Coveney and his advisers in Brussels on Sunday night next and on a regular basis during the Fisheries Council next week to support his endeavours to deliver for Ireland the best deal possible in terms of fishing Opportunities for 2016.
ENDS
 
 
Contact Details:-
Sean O’Donoghue, CEO Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation    087 – 4196535 or 074 97 31089

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, today announced that the European Commission has agreed and adopted Ireland’s new €241 million development programme for the seafood sector for the period up to 2020 co-funded by the Exchequer and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
In announcing the adoption of the Programme the Minister said “I am delighted to announce that our comprehensive €241 million investment package for the seafood sector has been adopted in law by the Commission and the Programme can now be implemented in full.  My Department has been working on this for some time with stakeholders and the State agencies that will deliver the Programme. I expect now that Schemes will be rolled out from the beginning of 2016 to assist seafood enterprises to sustainably grow their production, add value to our seafood exports and create much needed employment in our coastal communities.  Our Seafood sector is worth in the region of €850 million annually to our economy and I am aiming to achieve €1 billion sales by 2020.”

Funds under the Programme will be distributed as follows:

• Sustainable Development of Fisheries (€67 million)

Measures will be focussed on implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy, in particular the discards ban.  Schemes will be implemented to support fishermen in implementing the landing obligation, to develop more selective fishing gear and methods to avoid unwanted catch, to decommission vessels in imbalanced fleet segments, to support sustainable inshore fisheries and to support implementation of the Habitats, Birds and Marine Strategy Framework Directives.

•  Sustainable Development of Aquaculture (€30 million)

Measures will be focussed on sustainably growing production, value and employment in the sector and on promoting knowledge, innovation and technology.

•  Processing and Marketing (€33 million)

Measures will be focussed on promoting innovation, competitiveness and employment in the sector through increased value added processing of fish, promotion of new product development and increased scale.

•  Fisheries Local Action Groups (€12 million)

Support to a maximum of 7 Fisheries Local Action Groups to develop and implement local development strategies for coastal areas to create growth and jobs in those areas, in particular by adding value to seafood products and diversifying the local economy towards new economic activities offered by the broader maritime sector.

•  Control and Enforcement (€45 million)

Supports will be focussed on implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and will finance investment by the State in database systems, traceability systems, vessel monitoring systems, training and investment in new fisheries patrol vessels.

•  Data Collection (€41 million)

Supports will be focussed on provision of scientific and economic data on the seafood industry to support decision making at EU and national level on implementation of the CFP, in particular research vessel surveys, contracting of scientific and economic resources, and outsourced expertise to survey, compile and analyse data.

•  Integrated Maritime Policy (€10.6 million)

Supports will be focussed on developing a marine spatial planning system and other Integrated Maritime Policy measures.