Fishing rights around Rockall erupt as Irish vessel is boarded

A longstanding dispute over fishing rights around Rockall – an eroded volcano 230 nm northwest of Donegal – has flared up again.

In the early days of 2021, Greencastle-based fishing vessel Northern Celt was instructed to leave the area by a Scottish patrol boat, SPV Jura, on the basis it ‘can no longer fish inside the 12-mile limit of Rockall’ as a result of Brexit.

When boarded by Scottish authorities, skipper Adrian McClenaghan was shown a document: ‘Temporary licence to fish in UK waters EU Vessel‘, granted by Scottish Ministers, Welsh Ministers, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland and the Marine Management Organisation.

The licence authorises a vessel named in a published list on the UK government website ‘to undertake fishing activities within those parts of Brish fishery limits’ set out in a accompanying table.

A licence however does not authorise a vessel to fish in waters ‘which fall within 12 nautical miles of the baselines as they are calculated in respect of Rockall’.

Fish caught in the waters around Rockall account for 30% of the Northern Celt‘s annual income.

Resolution sought

A joint statement from Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for the Marine said the Irish government was seeking to resolve the issues involved reflecting the ‘longstanding fisheries tradition’ in the area.

‘Taking account of the new EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, this may also require contact with the European Commission.

Sinn Féin spokesperson for fisheries, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has called on the government to “urgently defend Irish fishing rights” at Rockall:

“In June 2019 I warned then then Fine Gael Minister for the Marine, Michael Creed, that the 2013 Agreement between the Irish government and the British government establishing a Single Maritime Boundary between the Exclusive Economic Zones of the two countries and parts of their continental shelves, essentially recognised British sovereignty over Rockall.

“This is a shameful agreement that has never been ratified by the Dáil.”

Fine Gale was warned that the deal would cause “real problems” after Brexit “and they didn’t listen”, he added.

Deputy Mac Lochlainn believes Ireland should have supported the demands of Iceland and Denmark for share sovereignty and fishing rights “but they chose not to do so”.

A Motion (Jan 8) submitted by Lothian Independent MSP, Andy Wightman, states inter alia that colonial annexation by the British Crown is not an internationally recognised means of establishing sovereignty over any territory.

MSP Wightman has called on the Scottish government ‘to formally disclaim sovereignty over Rockall and invite the UK Government to initiate international dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations to establish the status of Rockall in international law’.