IRISH fishing industry leaders have reacted angrily to European Commission proposals to cut the EU fleet by up to 40 per cent. The cuts, a response to the sharp decline in fish stocks in European waters, are to be made over six years. The bulk of the cuts will have to be made in the first three years, the Commission says.
Announcing the "Fourth Multi annual Guidance Programme", which sets out targets for fleet size up to 1999, the EU Fisheries Commissioner, Ms Emma Bonino, yesterday appealed for understanding of the need for severe measures. The fishing community knew that to secure its industry "there has to be fish", she said.
"The aim of our proposals is to guarantee future resources and to balance the size of the fleet to allow the sustainable development of the industry."
Mr Frank Doyle, of the Irish Fishermen's Organisation, said yesterday: "The fishing community in this part of the world does not understand why it has to pay for stock problems caused by fleets from other member states. We are totally opposed to any reduction in Irish capacity. Such is the age of our fleet, restricted by weather, that we cannot even spend time on the grounds. So, if the tonnage has to be cut, it must be cut elsewhere."
Mr Mike Barnett, of the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation, said the Irish fleet could not tolerate such a reduction when it was trying to modernise in order to improve safety.
The Commission's proposals, based on scientific estimates of what various stocks can sustain, are for EU wide targets, broken down by fishing region and catch type. Individual member states face difficult negotiations with the Commission over their allocations. A final decision on the controversial package will be taken at the Fish Ministers' meeting in December, which Ireland will chair as holder of the EU Presidency.
The most severe cutbacks proposed are for salmon, where the Commissioner said a "non negotiable" reduction of 50 per cent of the fleet is proposed. But in this case her target is expected to be mainly the Baltic fleet rather than the relatively small operations off Ireland and Scotland, according to Commission sources.
Irish fishermen are most likely, however, to be affected by the proposed cuts of 40 per cent in the mackerel and herring fleets fishing off the west of Scotland. Scientists, have already warned that the mackerel stock is in danger, at a time when Donegal based skippers have invested heavily in supertrawlers. The Killybegs based Veronica represents some 10 percent of the total Irish tonnage.
Similar cuts are sought for the whitefish, mackerel and herring fleets working in certain areas off the south and west coasts of Ireland, and all fleets working in the Irish Sea. Special consideration would be given, however, to coastal fisheries whose small boats make little dent on the overall figures.
Ms Bonino said the proposals were supported by an independent inquiry and backed by the Union's Scientific Committee for Fisheries. The experts found that despite three previous rounds of conservation measures, the first two of which were deeply flawed, fisheries in European waters are in further decline. The Commission has allocated some £2,500 million in the first phase to cushion the blow. At the same time, measures twill be taken to modernise the production infrastructure, Ms Bonino said.
National programmes will be negotiated to take account of the performances of member states in current capacity reduction targets, the Commissioner said. Ireland is still some 7 to 8 per cent above its target for 1996.