Ireland has instituted a phased ban on industrial fishing in the nation’s inshore waters that will be fully effective from October 2026 onward.
Starting this October, industrial trawlers 18 meters or more in length will need a permit to fish for sprat in Ireland’s inshore waters and will be subject to a quota limit of 2,000 metric tons. Then, next October, all trawling activity by large fishing vessels will be banned from fishing in Ireland’s inshore waters.
The ban aims to protect marine biodiversity, as several species that inhabit Irish inshore waters, especially sprat, are popular prey for other wildlife such as whales and seabirds.
“The measures, which amount to a de facto ban on industrial trawling of sprat in our inshore waters, are the result of an extensive public consultation process and careful consideration of the best available scientific advice,” Ireland Minister of State for Nature, Heritage, and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan said, per the Irish Examiner. “I am satisfied that this is the right thing to do for the preservation of sustainable fisheries in our inshore waters.”
The move was celebrated by Ireland’s small-scale inshore fishermen, many of whom have been calling for the ban for years.
In January 2020, Ireland began enforcing a ban on trawlers over 18 meters in length operating inside 6 nautical miles of the country’s coast. Soon after, in October 2020, the ban was struck down by a ruling by Ireland’s High Court in Dublin, angering conservationists and small-scale fishermen.
“It’s devastating that one of Ireland’s few laws that actively supported hundreds of low-impact fishers and their coastal communities and could deliver massive environmental benefits has been overturned on a technicality in favor of some of the most destructive fishers in the industry,” Rebecca Hubbard, who was the program director at environmental nonprofit Our Fish, said at the time.
After that, there were few discussions on reinstituting the ban until 2024, when the Irish government opened public consultations on potential new limits to inshore fishing by trawlers, starting a process that eventually led to the late July announcement.
Michael Desmond, head of the Irish National Inshore Fishermen’s Association (NIFA), told SeafoodSource his organization was pleased with the ban.
"We welcome this ban but wish it were immediate,” he said.
Desmond also would like to see a broader species limit this year for larger vessels operating in inshore areas – a move he believes would allow his members to catch other species like anchovies and prawns.
"Big vessels are going into Galway Bay, and they take more prawns in a night than a small guy would take all winter,” Desmond said.
