The rift between the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, and the fishing port of Killybegs in Co Donegal appears to have widened, following his decision to allow some southern fishing vessels greater access to north-west grounds.
The chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation, Mr Joey Murrin, has condemned the Minister's decision to lift restrictions on 20 fishing boats with special licences. The 20 vessels, only four of which are from Donegal, have been allowed to fish for both quota and non-quota whitefish species off the so-called ICES Area 6.
The move has caused "widespread anger and discontent" among Donegal fishermen, according to Mr Murrin. It comes just weeks after top mackerel skippers in Killybegs pledged to seek a judicial review of a separate decision by the Minister to impose new restrictions on their landings.
The 20 fishing vessels were awarded special licences in 1991 by a Fianna Fail/PD administration, without having to provide tonnage replacement. The measure effectively allowed eight unregistered vessels in the south-west, fishing mainly out of Dingle in Co Kerry, to fish legitimately at a time of growing EU pressure to cut back on fleet size. Four of the 20 licences awarded to Donegal represented "a political decision", Mr Murrin has claimed.
Some of these vessels have Spanish crews, and the Minister has allowed more boats into an area which was already over-fished, Mr Murrin said.
