Ireland’s three largest political parties have been courting voters in the seafood industry in the run up to the country’s general election on 29 November by making several promises to strengthen the sector.
Two of the country’s current ruling parties – Fine Gael and Fianna Fail – have promised the industry a dedicated minister of state for fisheries if elected, while the Sinn Fein party has promised to institute a dedicated marine minister and create a Fish Ireland office in Brussels, Belgium, that would lobby E.U. officials.
Irish fishing bodies have blamed a shortage of quota from the E.U., as well as SFPA oversight, for a drop in landings at key ports and processing hubs, such as Killybegs on the northwest coast of Ireland.
Irish South and West Fishermen’s Organization CEO Patrick Murphy said another gripe that Irish fishermen would like addressed is that Ireland possesses 12 percent of E.U. waters, but less than six percent of the bloc’s fishing quotas – and fishermen want a larger share of the quota for the country's trawlers.
Similarly, a new grouping of the country’s various fishery lobby groups, calling itself the Seafood Ireland Alliance, has sought Irish government action on what it sees as an unfair allocation of E.U. fishery stocks to non-E.U. states like Norway. Ireland's fishing industry has fought back against what it has deemed unfair treatment by the E.U., Norway, and the Irish government.
The lobby also wants a new review and plan from the government to plot the future development of fishing and seafood processing in Ireland.
Dominic Rihan, the economic and strategic services director of Bord Iascaigh Mhara – an Irish government agency tasked with aiding in the development of the Irish marine fishing and aquaculture industries – said the new alliance shares Fine Gael’s ambition to deliver a plan for the sector within 100 days of a new government taking office.
Irish Fish Producers Organization CEO Aodh O’Donnell said the Sinn Fein manifesto commitment to establish an “independent oversight and complaints body” for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA), which monitors Irish catches and landings, would also be a positive step for teh industry.
“Effective oversight is needed to ensure public accountability,” he said.
All of the parties promise to demand the E.U. to review its Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to give Ireland a new allocation of fish stocks.
The promises laid out by Irish parties follow promises Irish candidates in this year’s elections to the European Parliament made before election, including a call for fisheries powers to be returned to member states.
