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Minister of Agriculture, Food and Marine Mr. Simon Coveney,
TD has been presented with the most recent version of the
Marine Institute’s annual Stock Book.
The Stock Book contains vitally important information
to serve Ireland during the forthcoming annual Total Allowable
Catch (TAC) negotiations at the various EU Council of Fisheries
meetings. It also acts as a valuable reference throughout
the year at other fisheries management meetings with the EU.
According to The Stock Book, the 2011 fishing opportunities
(TACs) for the international fleets that operate in Irish
waters (ICES sub areas VI and VII) were 937,924 tonnes of
fish, with an estimated landed value of €1.04 billion, based
on average 2009 prices and represent a conservative estimate.
Ireland’s share of these fishing opportunities represents
21% by tonnage and 17% by value. These figures do not include
those valuable inshore fisheries (e.g. lobster, crab and whelk)
which are not managed by TACs within the Common Fisheries
Policy (CFP).
In June 2011, the European Commission reported that fish
stocks in European waters were improving. Whereas 32 out of
the 34 commercial fish stocks in the Atlantic were overfished
in 2004, this proportion fell to 22 out of 35 stocks by 2010
- a drop of 94% to 63% of overfished stocks in six years.
Nevertheless, many stocks in the west of Scotland, Irish
Sea and Celtic Sea remain overfished and stock sizes are small.
“Sustainability for the fishing industry means leaving enough
fish in the sea to grow and reproduce at their most productive
level,” said Dr. Peter Heffernan of the Marine Institute.
“This is the concept of ‘Maximum Sustainable Yield’
or MSY, which is defined by The Stock Book for commercial
stocks in Irish waters and used to define the Total Allowable
Catch assigned to each country for each stock. Fishing too
hard, at levels above the MSY means that fish will be caught
too soon, too small and using too much fuel - in short, that
stock will cease to be sustainable.”
To access The Stock Book - Click
Here
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