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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

Brexit deal fails Irish fishermen

Government must not stand idly by and sacrifice Irish fishing industry

Brexit uncertainty to severely hamper fisheries negotiations

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