KFO NEWS
  • Latest News
  • EVENTS
  • EVENTS
  • New Page
  • New Page

Significant progress made on Danish mackerel dispute

12/14/2021

 

Festive cheer otherwise in scant supply at Fisheries Council  
​

Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) CEO, Seán O’Donoghue has welcomed a declaration issued by the Council of EU Fisheries Ministers aimed at resolving the mackerel dispute between Denmark and Ireland. However, he conceded that this agreement aside, it was a case of “little done, lots left to do” at the annual meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers which concluded in Brussels this morning.

Mr O’Donoghue said that this outcome provided an injection of confidence on the critical wider issue of burden-sharing whereby the industry here is seeking an equitable solution to the outrageous scenario which sees Irish fishermen saddled with 40% of the EU’s fisheries loss to Britain, post-Brexit.

“We are confident that when all the facts are fully examined rather than the rhetoric, it will be shown that the incorrect methodology had been used by the Commission in setting the Danish mackerel quota in Norwegians waters, which will now be rectified for 2022. The declaration provides a roadmap to achieving this. This issue was a key priority for us and we are pleased that we have managed to eke out a fairly strong resolution thereon.
“Ahead of this Council, I had warned that the new system which sees Britain negotiate directly with the EU on fisheries quotas, means that the Council is now being held in a vacuum bereft of critical information regarding key stocks. A fundamental overhaul of the current system is urgently needed with fishermen entitled to some sort of certainty in order to manage their businesses for the year ahead.

“Of the 55 stocks shared with the UK which are important to the Irish fleet, only two, sole and plaice off the west coast of Ireland have had quotas set for the next year, meaning most of the Irish industry is again left to plan for 2022 without a plan.

“We had requested that the seasonality of our pelagic fisheries such as mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting and boarfish, which are mostly fished in the first quarter of the year had to be addressed if provisional ‘Total Allowable Catches’ (TACs) and quotas were set for the first three months. Allowing only 25% of our quotas to be caught in this period is neither credible nor realistic. For the most part, this was achieved with mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto Scandia herring set at 100%. Horse mackerel was set at 70% and regrettably boarfish at just 30% which is unworkable.

“Unfortunately, the Council did not address massive mackerel over-fishing by Norway and the Faroe Islands during 2021 which is jeopardising the sustainable management of the stock. However Minister McConalogue did reiterate his supportive position on this issue calling for a range of appropriate measures against Norway and the Faroes, if they continue set inflated unilateral mackerel quotas,” concluded Mr O’Donoghue.

Brexit residue erodes Fisheries Council clout

12/9/2021

 

​Handcuffed negotiators unlikely to resolve key fisheries issues
​

The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) has expressed its serious misgivings ahead of the annual meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers which commences in Brussels this weekend. It believes that an industry already in a state of heightened anxiety regarding Brexit losses is again in a nigh impossible situation since the real decisions impacting Irish fisheries for 2022 and beyond, are being taken at separate negotiations between the EU and UK.

Seán O’Donoghue, CEO of the KFO said: “The Commission is likely to propose provisional TACs (Total Allowable Catch) and quota figures for next year. This is as a result of the fact that we are awaiting the outcome of EU/UK bilateral negotiations which affect 75 shared fish stocks, most of which are crucial to the Irish fleet. Based on past experience, I wouldn’t be holding my breath that these bilaterals will have wrapped up in time to give Council the necessary data with which to make final TACs and quotas for next year.

The more probable scenario is that the Council will set provisional TACs and quotas. This is totally unsatisfactory and caused a major problem for our fishing sector last year with the final figures published seven months into the year. Further compounding this, we had the huge impact of Brexit on our key stocks. It is of critical importance that what happened in 2021 is not repeated for 2022.

Seasonal fisheries such as mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting and boarfish are predominantly worked in the first quarter of the year so instructing fishermen that they can only catch a certain percentage of their allocations during ‘peak season,’ is neither credible nor realistic. The KFO is also concerned in relation to a number of whitefish stocks given the scientific advice being presented to EU and UK negotiators and the impact the trilateral negotiations EU/Norway/UK could have on significantly decreasing the TAC for haddock in Northwest where an increase of 125% is expected.

Furthermore, I have requested immediate action by the Minister and the Commission to urge Norway and the Faroe Islands to stop the massive overfishing of mackerel in the Northeast Atlantic which is jeopardizing the sustainable management of the stock. It is critical that the Council of Ministers act decisively against this irresponsible and reckless behaviour and I am calling on our Minister to ensure that this is dealt with at the Council.

Finally, the Council must be made aware that Minister McConalogue, our Commissioner and our Government as a whole, are unequivocally committed to delivering on ‘burden sharing’ amongst the Member States post Brexit to rectify the appalling vista whereby Irish fishermen were saddled with 40% of the EU’s fisheries loss to Britain. A recent fleet report from the Commission’s own Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF) has confirmed these figures are correct. The ball is firmly in their court now and we’re demanding urgent action on this issue.”
​

The KFO expects, as in previous years, after the usual battles that ‘The Hague Preferences’ - which see Ireland getting elevated quotas for a number of key species, will be delivered.

Guilty until proven innocent, the lot of Irish fishermen

12/1/2021

 

EU Commission refuses fishermen sight of contentious report

Fishermen are demanding sight of a control audit report which allegedly makes a range of damaging allegations against the sector but to which they have been denied access for more than three years.
Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) CEO, Seán O’Donoghue said the Commission is playing the role of judge and jury, with the fishing industry being refused the basic right to establish what it might stand accused of.
“Natural justice assumes an absence of bias and the right to a fair hearing but for Irish fishermen, it would appear that this is a bridge too far. This is borne out in the European Commission’s sustained refusals to release findings of an audit around fishing practices which concluded in 2018 and subsequently formed the basis of a new investigation into the sector.
“Since we’ve never seen the actual audit report nor the investigation’s findings, we’ve only learned anecdotally that it found Ireland lacked a weighing system fit for purpose and permission for all fish to be weighed in factories was duly removed earlier this year. The only information fishermen have is coming from media reports and political utterances which hint at all sorts of horrific punishments coming down the track in the form of slashed quotas and massive fines.

“Our inability to be able to defend ourselves is already having a huge impact. The removal of the weighing permits in the factories last April was, according to the Commission, based on the findings of these reports. Fish must now be weighed at the point of landing which is wholly unworkable and having a detrimental effect on product quality, markets and operational efficiency.

“We met with the Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius in Killybegs in September. To the fore on our agenda was to formally establish what both the audit and the three-year inquiry have uncovered to date. Mr Sinkevičius claimed the inquiry was ongoing with the Irish authorities and much to our amazement, he said he wasn’t aware that industry has been refused access to the information,” said Mr O’Donoghue.
“The old adage ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is being applied in reverse here. It’s high time for the Commission to play fair with Irish fishermen and give our much-maligned industry a chance to defend itself in order to work together to ensure fairness, sustainability, transparency and a seascape which gives those employed therein an opportunity to make a viable living in a post-Brexit world. This Kafkaesque charade in which we find ourselves, belies the very Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which states clearly that the presumption of innocence should be respected. Unfortunately the experience of Irish fishermen has been a very different one,” he concluded.
​

Further information:
Seán O’Donoghue - 087 4196535

    KFO News

    The Killybegs Fishermans Organisation Ltd, we want to keep our members informed as to whats happening in the news for the KFO, and issues that effect you and  helping you stay up to date in one place.

    Archives

    December 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.