EUROPEAN FISHERIES ministers struck a deal early yesterday in the annual round of EU negotiations on fish quotas, overcoming acute differences in “extraordinarily difficult” talks over the allocation of fishing rights in the union.
The agreement at 4.30am followed a two-day negotiation in which fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki was said to have adopted a very hard line in defence of her demand for drastic reductions in the quotas for cod and other threatened species.
Although Minister of State for Fisheries Seán Connick welcomed a deal which he said would deliver quotas worth €223 million to the Irish fishing fleet, the Federation of Irish Fishermen said reductions in the cod quotas would lead only to the enforced discarding of “marketable fish”.
The fishing industry body welcomed what it described as the “successful defence” of many key fisheries but recognised “some cuts in important regional quotas”.
The deal was criticised by environmentalists, who said it was clear that negotiators fought hard to overcome commission proposals which had prioritised the sustainability of fish stocks. Central to Ms Damanaki’s proposal for Irish fisheries was her demand for a 50 per cent cut in the Irish cod quota in light of scientific evidence which suggests the species is not recovering from over-fishing.
The deal included a 25 per cent cut in Irish Sea and northwest cod quotas and a 30 per cent cut in the Norwegian waters cod quota.
“By introducing new information on Celtic Sea cod, I secured agreement that the current level [of fishing] will continue into 2011, and may be increased during the year if the new survey results are confirmed by the scientists,” Mr Connick said.
“However, given the poor state of cod stocks off the northwest and in the Irish Sea, cuts were necessary.”
The deal was “balanced and sustainable”, Mr Connick said.
The final agreement will deliver whitefish quotas worth some €116 million, including “protection” for Ireland’s €54 million prawn fishery.
This will decrease by 3 per cent next year, much less than a proposed 17 per cent cut in Ms Damanaki’s original proposal.
Fish industry groups had said the commissioner’s first proposal would have caused “untold” operational difficulties.
