Brexit a 'disaster' for North West

An Inishowen member of the Seafood Sector Taskforce described Brexit and the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) as “a disaster” for the North West.

The TCA was the free trade agreement signed on December 30, 2020, between the EU and Britain.

John D O'Kane, who manages the Foyle Fishermen's Co-operative, sat on the Seafood Taskforce, established in February 2021 by Minister for Agriculture and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue. The group submitted its report, Navigating Change, to the Minister on October 11, 2021.

Speaking to the Inish Live, Mr O'Kane said, from the point of view of Foyle Fishermen's Co-operative, indeed the four co-operatives around the coast, it had been very important the Seafood Taskforce supported the inshore fishermen.

Last Wednesday, Minister McConalogue announced a support scheme for the inshore fisheries sector, to assist inshore fishers in adjusting to the impacts of Brexit on their businesses.

The scheme will take the form of a suite of four online training modules to be made available by BIM, specifically tailored to the inshore fishing sector, with a payment to owners of inshore fishing vessels to assist them with the costs of undertaking the training and subsequently adjusting their business and marketing plans. 

The scheme will be open to owners of fishing vessels under 18 metres in length, registered in the polyvalent, polyvalent potting and specific segments. 

As recommended by the Seafood Task Force, these one-off payments will be €2,700 for owners of vessels under 8 metres in length and €4,000 for owners of vessels between 8 metres and 17.99 metres in length.

The scheme will operate from January to March 2022 and will be administered by Bord Iascaigh Mhara.  Further details will be available from BIM in due course at https://bim.ie/fisheries/funding/. 

For vessel owners to be eligible, they must demonstrate that they were actively fishing during the period January to June 2021.  The scheme will specify requirements in this respect.

Minister McConalogue said: “The Brexit Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme, a Seafood Taskforce recommendation, will take the form of a suite of four online training modules, to be made available by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), specifically tailored to the inshore fishing sector, with a payment to owners of inshore fishing vessels to assist them with the costs of undertaking the training and subsequently adjusting their business and marketing plans.”

Mr O'Kane commended Minister McConalogue for putting the Seafood Sector Taskforce together.

He said: “It is very important that all of the schemes, including the schemes for the co-operatives and the processors and the schemes for decommissioning, are put through as possible in the New Year.

“What we really have to do to encourage younger people into the industry is to make it a career that they can look forward to and earn a living pursuing.

“To earn a living at fishing at the moment, what we really require is more fish and that position needs to be fought by Minister McConalogue at a European level, which he is doing. He must try to increase the quota that we have currently and that's around burden sharing.

“It states within the Seafood Taskforce report that Ireland has taken an unfair hit, compared to other European Countries, and it is very important Minister McConalogue keeps up the work he is doing at European level to make sure, over the next 12 to 18 months especially, around the review of the Common Fisheries Policy, there are changes made to the division of quotas throughout Europe, so that Ireland gets a fair share of quota, in our own waters, so that we will have a future for young fishers in Greencastle and all around our Island nation.”

Liam O'Brien, an Inishowen inshore fisherman said the problems in Lough Foyle pre-dated Brexit.

He added: “In the Foyle area, it was the Good Friday Agreement which destroyed our fishery, through mismanagement.

“Most of the boats here would be shellfish boats now and they did not get their full season, a very small season, because of the mismanagement of not promoting oyster fishing in Lough Foyle, which is why there is a case ongoing in the High court.

“There is a suspicion the Irish and British Governments don't want us fishing in Lough Foyle. There is still a border at Greencastle for the Northern Ireland boats that can only come and go at specified times.

“The majority of inshore boats have been tied up since before Christmas because they couldn't compete. There is no marketing of the Foyle oyster.

“The men were to get twenty something days but they cut it down because they couldn't sell their oysters and that is due to mismanagement and due to no promotion of the Foyle oyster fishery for the simple reason, these oysters are being sold on to France and sold as French oysters.”