Basis for Irish Box fishing restriction is 'legally sound'

The Government is satisfied that the Irish Box restriction is "legally sound" and that there is no justification for its removal, the Dáil was told last night.

The Minister of State for the Marine, Mr John Browne, also said that the current rules relating to Spanish vessels - 40 vessels are allowed to fish there - were also legally sound.

Mr Browne added that his Department would be submitting a formal paper "in the next few days", challenging the view of those who believe the Irish Box should no longer exist.

However, while the EU Commissioner, Mr Franz Fischler, said the Commission would do its best to ensure the retention of the box - a 50-mile restricted zone around the State's waters - he believed the rules concerning the 40 Spanish vessels were "discriminatory" and had to be changed from January 1st next.

Only 40 Spanish vessels are allowed in Irish waters at any one time and Mr Browne told Mr Simon Coveney, Fine Gael's marine spokesman, that the 40-vessel limit was a "very effective instrument for conservation and must be retained".

He stressed that there was no justification in the Common Fisheries Policy legal framework for its removal.

Mr Coveney had called for the Government to clarify the legal issues before any Minister went into negotiations and he warned that Irish fishermen believed it would be "curtains" for the fishing industry if the Irish Box were removed.The restricted fishing zone was ecologically important as Irish waters were a spawning ground for many species for European waters.

The Spanish fleet was seeking new fishing grounds because it had been removed from Moroccan waters for overfishing, Mr Coveney added.

The Minister of State said the legal advice was that the zone "was not time-barred and does not come to an end" by 2003.