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Call for tougher action on foreign vessels fishing in EEZ
🇮🇪 Ireland /Economy & Trade

Call for tougher action on foreign vessels fishing in EEZ

From RTÉ News · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • An Irish parliamentary committee recommends stronger enforcement against non-Irish vessels fishing in the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
  • The report also calls for better consultation between the fishing industry regulator and the sector, and a review of sea-fisheries legislation.
  • A new ombudsman to oversee the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) is also proposed, alongside reforms to penalty systems for minor offenses.

Ireland's Oireachtas Joint Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs has urged for a significant strengthening of enforcement measures targeting non-Irish vessels operating within the nation's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The committee's report, released Tuesday, also advocates for improved dialogue between the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the fishing industry it regulates.

review the sea-fisheries protection enforcement framework as applied to non-Irish vessels fishing in Ireland's EEZ with a view to ensuring that high standards of enforcement are applied

— Minister of State for Fisheries and the Marine Timmy DooleyThe committee's recommendation regarding enforcement of non-Irish vessels in Ireland's EEZ.

The report makes 14 recommendations, including the establishment of an ombudsman or similar supervisory body to handle complaints and assess the SFPA's effectiveness. This comes amid persistent criticism from fishing groups and politicians regarding the SFPA's regulatory performance and the existing 2006 Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act.

Key proposals include a comprehensive review of sea-fisheries legislation, ensuring industry representation, and allowing the SFPA discretion to apply non-criminal penalties for minor or accidental breaches. The committee specifically asks Minister of State for Fisheries and the Marine Timmy Dooley to "review the sea-fisheries protection enforcement framework as applied to non-Irish vessels fishing in Ireland's EEZ with a view to ensuring that high standards of enforcement are applied."

While the Irish fishing and seafood industry readily support the need for a regulator to enforce Irish and European Union laws related to sustainable fisheries, they have repeatedly expressed their serious concerns about how those laws are enforced and called for amendments to the 2006 Act, on several grounds

— Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Committee Chair Conor McGuinnessExplaining the industry's concerns about the current regulatory framework.

Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Committee Chair Conor McGuinness stated that while the industry supports regulation for sustainable fisheries, "they have repeatedly expressed their serious concerns about how those laws are enforced and called for amendments to the 2006 Act." He added that it is "timely to review and amend legislation to reflect the lessons of the last two decades."

timely to review and amend legislation to reflect the lessons of the last two decades

— Deputy Conor McGuinnessCommenting on the need for legislative updates.
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Originally published by RTÉ News. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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