‘Monster vessels hoovering up’ fish off Donegal as locals struggle, complains Inishowen T.D. Pádraig Mac Lochlainn who calls for Australia-style ban

Deputy Mac Lochlainn argued ‘super-trawlers’ and large factory ships should be banned from Irish waters to help sustain fish stocks and protect ‘inshore fishing communities who are struggling so much.’

He asked his constituency colleague, the Carndonagh-based fisheries minister Charlie McConalogue, to consider working with his European colleagues to follow Australia’s example of banning super-trawlers from national waters.

“The Minister will be aware on November 12 last, it was reported that two Dutch-registered monster vessels were fishing off the Donegal coast.

“One was a super-trawler and the other was a factory ship. One was 470 ft long and the other was 414 ft long. They hoovered up fish. There are widespread concerns about sustainability.

“How can the Minister talk about sustainability of fisheries when vessels of this size are hoovering up fish? There are major concerns about discards going back into the sea. There is a lack of CCTV, observers or accountability.

“It is difficult to take when we have given up 80 per cent of the 1.2 million tonnes that are caught in Irish waters every year.

“We have given up 80 per cent of the fish in that entire zone. The Minister needs to fight for Ireland’s interests and seek to put an end to this practice,” blasted Mr. Mac Lochlainn.

The minister responded by pointing out that all foreign pelagic fishing vessels are already banned from fishing in Ireland’s 12-mile fishing zone on the west coast.

“As a Deputy from a coastal county, no more so than Deputy Mac Lochlainn, protecting and trying to ensure the welfare and incomes of our fishermen is very important to me.

“That has never been more the case than at the moment in the context of the Brexit negotiations and the very solid and forthright campaign we have mounted working with our European maritime nation partners to try to ensure a good outcome from Brexit in terms of access to British waters and of maintaining our quota share.

“The specific issue the Deputy raised, as I pointed out to him, concerns a European competence. If there are to be changes, they will have to be at European level and to apply to all European waters, not just outside of the Irish 12-mile zone,” said the minister.