All quiet on the western front

Traditionally this is always a quiet time of year in the Irish fishing industry and this year is no different…

… and yet if you scratch away at the surface you’ll find there is indeed something changing this time around.

Editorial Comment - Cormac Burke, IFSA

Unlike previous years, when all of us were fearful that ‘radio silence’ from the DAFM and the SFPA usually meant that that something was being cooked up and it would mean another rule, change of rule, or a new measure or other that was designed to make the fisherman / processor’s life even more miserable and that this message would be delivered, with a stupid grin, by a minister who understood little and cared less about this industry.

No, this time  - although we can’t exactly physically see it yet -  there is a positive undercurrent taking place and, in an ironic twist of fate, it is those in the DAFM and SFPA who are sitting uncomfortably and waiting to see what lies ahead for them.

The appointment of Minister Heydon as senior Agriculture & Marine Minister and then Timmy Dooley as a junior but ‘dedicated fisheries’ minister has brought sharp focus and attention on the very poor ‘management’ of the Irish fishing industry of the past 30 years by marine civil servants and the SFPA quango and, in a polar opposite to his predecessor, Minister Dooley has already shown himself a capable man who refuses to be the puppet for his department officials and who has genuine interest in all sectors of the fishing industry and he has wasted no time in familiarising himself with the challenges facing the industry both here at home and in the context of EU control.

The election promises of, for the first time in the history of the State, a dedicated Fisheries and Marine Affairs Oireachtas Committee has been delivered upon and, not just a ‘think tank’ or a ‘political PR stunt’ as many predicted it would be, this Committee has seen the appointments, from all parties, of a selection of TDs and Senators with strong track records of interest in the fishing industry.

Although having only formally had their first meeting last week, it is clear from many earlier statements from those appointed to the Committee that they take this role very seriously and that they intend to make a difference.

And with the intention of gathering as much feedback as possible in the short term, the Committee have set a date next month when they will listen to presentations from all industry body representatives (including the IFSA) and that this will be followed by a briefing with Minister Dooley when the issues / suggestions will be discussed.

It also seems more than coincidental that the advent of this fisheries committee has increased interest in wider political circles and suddenly Irish MEPs from different parties have begun raising Irish fishing issues at EU Parliamentary talks on a much more regular basis than ever seen before.

Marrying all these events together has been the timely visit to Ireland of the new EU Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis which provided the opportunity for the industry here to highlight the fact that the promised EU ‘evaluation’ of the Common Fisheries Policy must be urgently retitled a full review/reform of the CFP if Ireland is to see any fair treatment.

It is simply not enough for EU representatives to say that there ‘is no appetite’ among other Member States for a change of the CFP when it is obvious that all of these Member States are harvesting the benefits of Irish waters while the Irish fleet must try to survive on just 14% of the quota in its own waters.

And so, with an apparent strong team of a fisheries minister and a fisheries committee working together, with the full support of industry representatives, it seems clear that there is coming a ‘shake-up’ of the traditional anti industry civil servants and other ‘authorities’ who believe themselves so powerful that they are out of reach of Government - - and once a reset of attitude is enforced to make these people understand that they are working for this industry and not the other way around - - then a unified industry in Ireland can begin to fight its case for justice in the EU context.