Tag Archives: Irish fishing industry
Our fishing industry is sustainable, so why are we intent on trashing it?
Irelands decision to join the EU 50 years ago was, from a fishing industry perspective, a poisoned chalice. Half a century later, Britain’s decision to leave that very same institution, and the resultant decommissioning deal for fishers, will mean a further loss of quotas, as well as widespread job losses on land and sea, too. The latest ‘deal’, according to John Nolan, chairman of the Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-operative, will cost more than money. ‘It could,’ he said, ‘mean the loss of our soul.’ With the approval deadline for decommissioning in its final throes, John described the latest quota cutbacks, and scrappage deal, as something that is ‘eating away at our hearts and taking away our hope.’ Photos, >click to read< 13:53
Windfall of €8m for family at heart of Atlantic Dawn fishing group
Atlantic Dawn, the Donegal-based international fishing group, has paid an €8m dividend to an entity controlled by the McHugh family who are behind the business. The dividend underscores how the group has continued to deliver a strong financial performance while keeping its turnover and profit details shielded from the public. Atlantic Dawn, headed by chief executive Karl McHugh, is one of Ireland’s largest fishing groups and estimated to control more than 7pc of the country’s entire fishing quota. >click to read< 17:40
Fears Brexit will cause 1,200 job losses in Irish mackerel sector
Ireland’s mackerel sector will lose more than 1,200 jobs by 2030 because of Brexit, according to fishing industry representatives. The economic cost to the industry in lost revenue and impact on the local economy is also estimated to be more than €800m. This is according to an analysis of the impact of Brexit on the sector which predominantly centres around mackerel, blue whiting, and herring catches. In three years, from 2021 to the end of 2023, pelagic fishers will, for example, have lost a total of 37,508 tonnes of their mackerel quota, the amount the EU says they can catch. >click to read< 20:20
From facing off with the Russian navy, to giving up a five-generation fishing tradition
For a brief moment, Alan Carleton was at the centre of a bizarre stand-off between Irish fishermen and the Russian navy. Back in January 2022, he and other fishermen had threatened to peacefully disrupt Russia’s naval plans to hold live firing exercises 240 km off the Cork coast. Himself and the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation CEO Patrick Murphy even met the Russian ambassador to demand the exercises be called off. Fast forward a year and a man who was prepared to stand up to the Russian navy is on the verge of giving up his own fight to stay in the Irish fishing industry. >click to read< 07:41
KFO to Highlight Litany of Festering Problems Facing the Fishing Sector
Morale in the Irish fishing industry is at an all-time low as rocketing fuel costs, shrinking quotas and the lingering legacy of Brexit are all proving extremely problematic. This will be the message brought to an Oireachtas Committee later today by the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation. KFO Chief Executive, Seán O’Donoghue, said the challenges facing the sector are manifold. And, although complex, his members have presented and agreed solutions to all of the key issues which are realistic, credible and based on scientific evidence. >click to read< 15:46
‘In the Eye of the Storm’: McConalogue Presents Memo on Seafood Task Force Report to Cabinet
The task force report, published in early October, is recommending just over €423 million be given to the Irish fishing industry to help weather the impact of Brexit. Highlights include awarding €66 million for a whitefish decommissioning scheme, €6 million to reduce the inshore fleet, and €3.7 million to remove inactive or off-register inshore vessels. It also recommends €90 million for seafood processors, and a series of short term measures, including a €12 million annual tie-up of polyvalent vessels over two years. >click to read< 09:55
Tired of being “ignored” by politicians, Irish Fishermen to set up political movement
There is no name yet for the movement, but organisers are planning to hold a series of public meetings in coastal towns and villages. Patrick Murphy, CEO of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, said the ambition is to organise a national “roadshow” to gauge opinion and to promote the need for more TDs dedicated to rural Ireland. He said: “We are sick of politicians promising us the earth while in opposition, only for them to ignore us when they get into power. >click to read< 16:57
Ireland: Fishing’s struggle to stay afloat
All of them are based in Castletownbere, Co Cork, and all are integral to a fishing community they believe is dying. Damien Turner, who is the skipper and owner of the MFV Roise Catriona, has been fishing for more than 30 years. video, >click to read< 08:24
Irish Fishing industry faces perfect storm of no-deal Brexit and Covid challenge
Patrick Murphy’s stark summing-up of the current state of the Irish fishing industry is not breaking news to those involved. But it will come as a surprise to many people in West Cork that fishing accounts for such a huge chunk of the local economy. When you think about the businesses that supply the hundreds of vessels operating off the south coast, it quickly becomes obvious why the industry must be protected here. Even medium-sized trawlers will use thousands of euro of diesel every year, and a modest operator will take on board about €500 or €600 worth of groceries to feed a small crew for a week. >click to read< 11:28
So long and thanks for all the fish: Irish fishermen say UK Brexit position could spell ‘unmitigated disaster’
Although a debate between the UK and EU around immigration has garnered more headlines in recent years, fishing rights are perhaps the most tangible example of why the UK wanted to leave in the first place. Over two-thirds of the EU’s fishing waters, and two-thirds of the EU’s fishing catch, belong to Ireland and the UK. Around half of Ireland’s fishing catch take place in UK waters. Now that the UK is leaving (and, theoretically, taking its waters with it) Ireland’s fishermen and fishing industry are under threat of being locked out of waters that had been frequented by Irish trawlers long before either country joined the EU. >click to read< 23:11
Tributes paid to fishing industry leader Donal O’Driscoll – A champion of the Irish fishing industry
“A champion of the Irish fishing industry” is how the Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation (IS&WFPO) described him yesterday (sun), as plans were made for a guard of honour in his home port of Castletownbere, Co Cork today. The RNLI Castletownbere lifeboat station, Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-op and the IS&WFPO are among organisations which Mr O’Driscoll was instrumental in founding. Mr O’Driscoll was one of a family of 14 and was born on Sherkin island in 1933. He learned his first fishing techniques – seining for mackerel – from his father, Dan William O’Driscoll. >click to read< 14:10
Fishermen warn of ‘mayhem’ on seas in event of no-deal Brexit, concerns of conflict between trawlers from different countries
Fisherman Michael Cavanagh has no doubts about the potential for violence on the high seas in the event of a no-deal Brexit at the end of the month. The Greencastle-based skipper says that just after the initial March 29th deadline passed, an Irish crew fishing for crab off Scotland got a nasty shock, even though there had been an extension. “They went to haul their pots, but 400 of them had already been hauled and the eye (which crabs crawl through) had been cut out of all the pots. And it wasn’t Boris Johnson who did it.” >click to read< 16:14
Calls for Ireland to double number of permits to protect migrant fishermen
The Irish government will have to issue at least 1,000 work permits to non-EU migrant fishermen – double the number announced by the government last week – if they want to provide protection to all those currently working on Irish trawlers, according to representatives from the Irish fishing industry. “I’ve been getting phone calls from fishermen all around Ireland who don’t think 500 will be enough to get everybody covered,” said Francis O’Donnell, the chief executive of the Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation. “I would be a lot more comfortable,,, Read the article here 11:00
Migrant fishermen permit scheme to be capped at 500
A new work permit system for non-European migrant workers in the fishing industry is to be capped at 500 individuals. Minister for Agriculture and the Marine Simon Coveney announced the details of the new scheme, which will initially apply only to people already working in Ireland. The proposals emerged from a working group set up by the Coalition, including a number of Government departments and State agencies. The establishment of the group three weeks ago followed a report in the Guardian newspaper. Read the article here 09:09
Guardian investigation – Revealed: trafficked migrant workers abused in Irish fishing industry
A year-long investigation into the Irish prawn and whitefish sector has uncovered undocumented Ghanaian, Filipino, Egyptian and Indian fishermen manning boats in ports from Cork to Galway. They have described a catalogue of abuses, including being confined to vessels unless given permission by their skippers to go on land, and being paid less than half the Irish minimum wage that would apply if they were legally employed. They have also spoken of extreme sleep deprivation, having to work for days or nights on end with only a few hours’ sleep, and with no proper rest days. Read the rest here 11:34
