Irish fishermen have broadly welcomed a new EU deal on new fishing quotas that will for the first time place limitations on the number of days fishermen can work in the Irish sea.
The agreement provides for a range of fishing days, from no restrictions at all to 12 days per month, depending on the type of fishing gear used and the level of cod, sole and plaice catches. European fisheries ministers agreed the deal in Brussels after three days of talks.
The Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO), which in the past has argued against limitations being place on days-at-sea, declared itself "reasonably happy" with the deal.
"A number of issues have been resolved to our satisfaction, although we're not jumping for joy," KFO chairman Mr Sean O'Donoghue, said.
"We didn't want the days-at-sea cuts, but we can live with them. At least there's been a logical arrangement this year. However, we oppose the technical measures relating to the weighing of all landed herring and mackerel from January - the infrastructure is simply not in place for such a policy.
"That said, the compromise reached is a far superior text to that agreed last year," Mr O'Donoghue stated.
The Castletownbere-based ISWFPO (Irish South and West Fish Producers' Organisation) stated that fishermen in the Irish Sea and off the west coast were 'happy enough overall' with the deal.
"We welcome the decision to increase the quotas for monkfish, megrim and haddock in the southwestern waters. The Minister is to be commended for ensuring that these quotas have returned to more realistic levels," ISWFPO manager Mr Jason Whooley said.
However, the organisation expressed concern at a 6 per cent cut in cod quotas in Celtic Sea, a move which will 'affect a very vulnerable section' of the ISWFPO fleet, it was claimed.
The ISWFPO also stated that the commission's days-at-sea scheme had proven counter-productive in the past and warned that today's announcement would see the policy introduced to all waters 'sooner rather than later'.
Fine Gael has hailed the deal as positive news for the southwest, but bad for Irish Sea fishing fleets. "This days-at-sea restriction will make the viability of fishing for many Irish Sea fishermen very difficult," the part'y marine spokesman, Mr Simon Coveney, TD, said.
In an earlier statement, the Department of the Marine said Minister Dermot Ahern had succeeded in "substantially modifying Commission proposals which would have imposed drastic restrictions on Irish fishermen in the Irish Sea and off Donegal".
The Minister pointed out that, under the deal, 89 per cent of the Irish Sea fleet will not be subject to the "days at sea" proposal. The Commission had proposed a system of cuts that would have limited the length of time that fishermen could spend fishing in the Irish Sea and a large area off the Donegal coast.
"I am pleased to say that we successfully put an end to such an unworkable and impracticable idea," Mr Ahern said.
Total Irish quotas for 2004 amount to 204,379 tonnes, compared to 189,500 tonnes for 2003, an increase of 8 per cent. The deal secured for 2004 also includes additional quota secured under the Hague Preference system under which Ireland gets additional whitefish quota at the expense of certain other countries.
Today's compromise deal came at the end of marathon three-day talks aimed at saving endangered species like cod and keeping fishermen financially afloat.
The deal affects catches in the Irish Sea, North Sea and the waters off western Scotland as well as waters off the Donegal coast. Germany and Sweden voted against the proposed fishing quotas for next year, while Greece abstained.
There was unanimous agreement on long-term stock recovery plans for cod and northern hake, two of the EU's most endangered species. France had held out to the last to get a better deal for its fishermen, officials said.
EU Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler said it was a "balanced" agreement giving fishermen already facing severe threats to their livelihoods another lifeline. He said agreements on next year's catches kept the industry alive, while the "basic principle" of long-term recovery plans for cod and for hake had been set.
The Commissioner said: "Germany and Sweden thought this deal was too generous and the catch quotas too high. But a lot of people wanted more flexibility, to establish a balance in fishing, and this is what we have been able to achieve."