‘Ban’ on Donegal pollock hook-and-line fishers ‘unfair’ as super-trawlers ‘hoover up’ fish

The Buncrana-based Sinn Féin deputy raised the situation on the Dáil and praised 14-year-old girl Arranmore fisher Muireann Kavanagh for raising awareness of the issue.

“A 14-year-old girl has done more than most in recent years to expose the inherent contradictions at the heart of the Common Fisheries Policy that undermine the European Union's core message of fairness.

"The girl in question is Muireann Kavanagh from Arranmore, an island off the coast of Donegal. For generations, her family has relied on the waters around them to eke out an existence.

"Muireann fished with hook and line to catch pollock. Using a hook and line is the form of fishing that involves the lowest impact possible. It is the most sustainable method and the fish is therefore really high quality produce.

"A ban has been introduced and the catch allowed is zero. Even though larger boats can catch pollock as a by-catch when catching other fish, the Government can see no way at all to allow Muireann to continue to fish and insists that it is prevented from allowing her to do so,” said Deputy Mac Lochlainn, speaking in Dáil Éireann on Wednesday.

He told TDs that European-registered super-trawlers are ‘hoovering up fish from our seas on a regular basis’ but ‘we have a 14-year-old girl with a hook and line who is told she cannot fish and her living is being squeezed’.

Deputy Mac Lochlainn spoke of how Muireann has written to the Minister for the marine, Charlie McConalogue, and recently travelled to Strasbourg to meet senior stakeholders there.

"The particular episode I have just outlined demonstrates the injustice of how the Common Fisheries Policy is implemented. Huge corporations can buy up quota from member states all across the EU and assign these to a couple of boats that can sail out and do whatever they want. However, the young girl to whom I refer cannot use her method of fishing. Anybody can see that that is not a sustainable and fair system.

“Of course, the big picture for Irish fishing communities is that we have a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. As a result, the waters from 12 miles off our shores out to 200 miles come under the jurisdiction of the Common Fisheries Policy. The large majority of the fish caught in those waters are caught by other member states.

"Nobody is arguing that this should not happen or that it all should be just Irish boats. However, they are asking for fairness,” said Deputy Mac Lochlainn.

The Sinn Féin TD raised the matter during Europe Day statements on Wednesday. Although no government minister responded to his concerns Tánaiste Micheál Martin, has previously stated that the fishery has been temporarily closed for scientific purposes.

In March the Fianna Fáil leader told Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty: "I am advised that the fishery has been closed on scientific advice, with reducing stocks. If you close it, it recovers and people will be able to fish sustainably into the future. That apparently is the issue.”

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