The Minister of State for the Marine has instructed Irish officials in Brussels to vote against access for Norway to blue whiting in EU waters, in a deepening international row over proposed fishing quotas.
Timmy Dooley told the Dáil he had “made it very clear to officials who negotiate on our behalf in advance of council meetings that it cannot be business as usual”.
He accepted Ireland does not have a veto and that a blocking minority would be difficult, he said. But “we have to make it very clear” that “we cannot allow a state that has robbed us of our breakfast, lunch and tea to expect we should hand it something in return”.
Ireland is set to “suffer most” from overfishing and the “unilateral allocation of quota”, the Minister added.
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The row developed following the “drastic” reductions in quotas, particularly of mackerel, blue whiting and boarfish, recommended by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (Ices) for 2026.
Outlining the Irish view, he said “a number of coastal states, of which Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands form a trio, have, through the unilateral allocation of quotas, engaged in a considerable amount of overfishing.
“Elements of the industry would indicate that over the past five years about 1 million tonnes have been fished above what would be acceptable based on scientific advice. That has a huge impact on fish stocks.”
Fianna Fáil TD Pat the Cope Gallagher, who raised the issue, said “our catching sector is facing the biggest cuts in its history in real terms in 2026. It is equivalent to the cumulative impact of four years of Brexit.”
He stressed the “detrimental” impact on producers and processors of the quota cuts and said the overfishing had happened over the past number of years, including by the UK since Brexit.
[ Ireland needs BOFFFFs (big old fat fecund female fish)Opens in new window ]
“In some years, Norway alone overfishes its quota by 55 per cent. This has led directly to a proposal from Ices to reduce the total allowable catch of mackerel by 70 per cent, blue whiting by 41 per cent and boarfish by 22 per cent.
“This has the potential to cost Ireland over €150 million in lost catches at the first point of sale. Of course, with the added value, the figure would be much greater than that.”
He added that “the very same Norway will attempt to gain access to fish blue whiting west of Ireland in the next number of weeks. We must oppose that completely and convince Europe to support us in the actions the Minister will take.
“Market access and trade restrictions for fish products need to be fully applied against Norway, as well as the Faroe Islands and Iceland,” he said.
“We cannot have these coastal states destroying a shared fishery and expect to have zero consequences.”
Mr Dooley pointed to a sustainability impact assessment that involved a public consultation process, along with “expert contributions” from the Marine Institute and Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).
This is “an essential step in Ireland’s preparations for the autumn negotiation on fishing opportunities for the forthcoming year”, he said.
