The EU will be giving Irish fishermen no more quota in Irish waters according to a bloc official, in a major blow to the already-struggling native industry.
The announcement was made by EU official Charlina Vitcheva – a Bulgarian who serves as Director General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries at the European Commission.
When asked whether the EU Commission was going to support the Irish fleet by offering them more quota in their own waters, Vitcheva replied: “On [this] question, I don’t think so.”
“This has been very much in the Irish press. I will not comment so much,” she said.
“We’ve been trying to level out the burden between the Member States concerned, but inevitably Ireland is so much closer and interlinked in terms of fisheries activities with the UK. No matter how much effort you will do, you will really touch them in their activity.”
According to government figures, Ireland is set to lose over €43 million worth of quota shares by 2026 in its own waters in the Fisheries Framework Agreement and Brexit deal negotiated by the EU on Ireland’s behalf.
Government destruction of Irish fishing sector indefensible – Michael Collins https://t.co/KsHVZYFZoY#irishfishingnews #irishfishingindustry #irishruralindependents #postbrexitfisheries #CFP #EUCommission #commercialfishing #fishingnews #dailyfishingnews
— The Fishing Daily (@FD_Editor) June 21, 2021
This is despite Ireland having the biggest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the European Union.
Under the current arrangement, industry representatives warn that up to a fifth of Irish fishermen will be forced to quit unless changes are made to the Common Fisheries Policy, which sees foreign vessels allowed to catch up to 85% of the fish in Irish waters.