‘We’ve heard these promises before’: is this the end of the line for Irish fishing? | Global development
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Zstrong winds sweeping across the North Atlantic kicked up thick plumes of spray from the surf soon after the trawlers Ocean Crest and Carmona left Ireland’s main fishing port of Killybegs in County Donegal. No other boats were fishing in the area when the storm hit the northwest coast of Ireland. It was February and the window for catching migrating mackerel was closing fast, but the two trawlers still hadn’t filled their quotas.
“This weather is pretty much the limit of what we can fish in,” said Captain Gerard Sheehy as the Ocean Crest’s bow plunged into the slope of a wave, sending a wall of white water crashing over the hull and wheelhouse windows , momentarily obscuring the view before the ship pitched back up into an oncoming wave.
Sheehy has a tattoo in line with the Irish fishing maxim: “Fail We May, Sail We Must.” The mantra seems apt now, nine months later, at a time when Ireland’s fishing industry is facing a deep crisis.
The fish quotas allowed to be caught in Irish waters have been reduced following the significant change in trade rules brought about by Brexitwhich disadvantaged Irish fishermen. Many in the industry now believe they are witnessing the beginning of the end of their livelihood. This is not the first time they have put their last hopes on politicians.
While the national housing crisis and immigration policies are the two most pressing issues facing Irish voters ahead of Friday’s general election, Fine Gael, Ireland’s main political party, has for the first time addressed key fishing industry issues in its general election manifesto. Other political parties in Ireland, including Fine Gael’s two main rivals, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Feinhave also included proposals for the fishing industry in their election manifestos.
“Politicians are finally waking up to the grim reality facing Irish fisheries,” said Brendan Byrne, chief executive of the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association.
Although fishing is a small industry in Ireland, it has been the economic backbone of many coastal communities, although it has been steadily shrinking over the years.
As part of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU transferred back 25% of their fishing rights in British waters. This greatly limited Irish ships in the number of fish they were allowed to catch – an estimated annual loss of €43m (£36m), making Ireland one of the European nations most affected by Brexit.
About 40 Irish fishing vessels were scrapped last year as part of a government voluntary decommissioning plan introduced after Britain left the European Union. This means that over the last 20 years the Irish fishing fleet has shrunk from 400 boats has fallen to 120, industry officials say, citing figures provided by the Irish Fishing Fleet Register.
The latest blow to the industry came in September when the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea recommended Ireland’s mackerel quotas for 2025 to be cut by a further 22%, a proposed move which some Irish fishermen say will finally destroy the country’s struggling pelagic fish processing sector.
Processing plants in Killybegs normally operate for up to five months each year, but were lucky to operate for six weeks in 2024, according to Byrne, who says production is down more than 60% compared to 2023.
Patrick Murphy, Chief Executive of the South and West of Ireland Fish Producers Organisation, said: “Political parties and politicians are now seeing the numbers and realizing that fishermen are not lying.
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In Killybegs, Ireland’s largest fishing port, fish processing plants are struggling, with production in the town down 60% compared to 2023, according to Brendan Byrne
“It would be terrible if the European country with the richest fishing grounds ended up with the poorest fishermen. Politicians will be asked how they allowed this to happen.
The Fine Gael manifesto supports the appointment of a special Minister of State for Fisheries and a review of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). These were among suggestions presented in a 10-point plan by the Seafood Ireland Alliance, comprising five separate fishing industry organizations who joined forces this year to unify their message.
Fine Gael MEP Nina Carberry has pledged to explore potential solutions in Brussels to allow Irish fisheries to return to sustainability. This will include a renegotiation of the CFP to ensure a fairer deal for Ireland and a fairer distribution of quotas. “I will continue to put pressure on the new commission and our UK colleagues and hope that both sides will show a willingness to reassess the terms of the current fisheries chapter,” she says.
Seafood Ireland Alliance leaders are optimistic about growing political will to tackle big challenges, but some fishermen, including Ocean Crest skipper Sheehy, remain wary of promises made during an election cycle.
“These are still very anxious times,” Sheehy says this week, before heading out to sea again. “Politicians make promises, of course, but we’ve heard all this talk before.”
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