Call for return of 18m boat ban inside six mile zone

In an ‘unprecedented’ response to a High Court decision to overturn an 18m boat ban from fishing inside the six mile zone, 15 fishing and environmental organisations have collectively called on the marine minister Charlie McConalogue to ‘take the steps necessary’ to reinstate the ban.

The jointly-signed letter to Minister McConalogue points out that the policy directive introduced in 2018, ‘was one of the most important fisheries policy shifts in the history of the Irish state’.

The decision was broadly welcomed as being ‘the right decision from a social, economic, environmental and a social justice perspective’ the letter adds, backed by ‘expert analysis by the Marine Institute and Bord Iascaigh Mhara,” remarked Alex Crowley of the National Inshore Fishermen’s Association and the National Inshore Fishermen’s Organisation.

Public consultation

When former marine minister Michael Creed announced his decision to launch a public consultation that ultimately led to the directive, “he was very clear that he wanted to create opportunity for the inshore sector.

“The manner he planned and subsequently created that opportunity also had far-reaching environmental and social economic benefits for our marine environment and wider coastal communities and economies,” Crowley added.

“On that basis, the proposal and the subsequent decision was broadly welcomed and supported by a board spectrum of interests.”

Stakeholders

Fintan Kelly, policy officer at Birdwatch Ireland said that beneath the waves, a “biodiversity crisis” has been unfolding for years:

“Overfishing has hollowed out marine ecosystems. As fish stocks have collapsed, it is having a direct impact on the Irish fishing communities that depend on them. Ireland can and must do better.”

Affected stakeholders “must be afforded the right to consultation as highlighted in the court”.

Rebecca Hubbard, Program Director of Our Fish said this was a “classic case of a technicality tripping up a brilliant idea”.

The Irish government can realise the “huge environmental and social benefits of protecting Ireland’s coastal waters from industrial fishing and deliver on their ambitions to halt the biodiversity and climate emergency by taking the necessary legal steps to reinstate the ban as a matter of priority” she added.

Letter signatories:

National Inshore Fisherman’s Association (NIFA) and National Inshore Fishermen’s Organisation (NIFO), Birdwatch Ireland, An Taisce, Cork Environmental Forum, Cork Nature Network, Coomhola Salmon Trust, Environmental Pillar, Friends of the Irish Environment, Irish Seal Sanctuary, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Irish Wildlife Trust, Oceana, Seas at Risk, Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) and Our Fish.