Killybegs has had its mackerel millions, and now fishing ports from Castletownbere in the south-west to Greencastle in the north have been promised some of that action. The £40 million investment package for the whitefish fleet, announced earlier this week, should result in new ships joining that sector of the fishing register for the first time in a decade.
Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland have already published their brochures, heralding a new and positive investment climate for commercial fishing. For while the mackerel supertrawler fleet has gone from strength to strength over the last couple of decades and Donegal-based skippers like Kevin and Eamonn McHugh, Martin Howley and Des Faherty have earned Europeanwide reputations the bulk of the national fleet working on whitefish has experienced a long, lean period from the Common Fisheries Policy's inception in 1983.
A combination of EU restrictions, pressure on Irish waters from other EU member-states, and lack of political support here made it almost impossible for new entrants to make their way ironically at a time when the world demand for fish was still rising. The nadir for many in the industry was the loss of six Donegal fishermen off Greencastle in November, 1995. The vessel, the Carrickatine, was old and unsafe as with more than 60 per cent of the whitefish fleet forced to take greater risks to make ends meet, according to a Government safety review commissioned after the accident.
The three-year fleet renewal package announced by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Michael Woods, and agreed with the European Commission, was put together by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM). It has been heralded as a "new dawn" by one of the most influential voices in the marine sector, Joey Murrin of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO). The package comprises £9 million in EU and State grants and more than £30 million in investment through tax incentives.
Some 45 per cent of the cost of about 27 new vessels will be financed, and 10 to 15 per cent of the cost of modern second-hand vessels. There will 25 per cent grant-aid for refurbishing existing boats, and 50 per cent assistance for purchase of safety equipment.
Some 400 vessel owners are expected to benefit, with a spin-off of up to 500 additional jobs in the industry. BIM anticipates that it will boost the value of landings by almost £30 million annually. Fish exports are currently running at more than £200 million, with more than £155 million being sold to the European market.
Significantly, the package for the whitefish sector comes at a time when the pelagic (midwater) supertrawler fleet in the northwest is regrouping. As reported earlier this year in Business This Week, one of the fleet's largest vessels, the 70-metre Atlantic Challenge has been sold back to Norway.
Skipper Martin Howley and partners are expected to order a smaller midwater trawler as a replacement. He and his colleagues have had a very successful season on the largely unexploited blue whiting stock, also worked by the Norwegians, Danes and Dutch. The bulk of this stock swims at around 300 fathoms in sea troughs up to 1,000 fathoms deep.
A stipulation for new whitefish vessel applicants that some 30 per cent of the annual catch must be of largely unexploited fish that is, non-quota species reflects a recognition that new opportunities must be exploited in both the whitefish and pelagic sectors, according to BIM. The board's new fisheries development manager, Mr Sean O'Donoghue, says that major exploratory fishing and quality programmes have been embarked upon, ranging from diversification trials on tuna to handlining of quality mackerel.
Already, the blue whiting fishery has grown from small beginnings, and Irish skippers have demonstrated that they can catch the fish better than the Norwegians, he says. Ireland must also establish a record in other species like Greenland halibut, grenadier and redfish before they, too, are subject to quota.
A major project involving BIM and the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation aims to improve fish quality, he says. This is being extended to other ports and should result in a 15 to 20 per cent improvement in price. A comprehensive study aimed at making the most of inshore fisheries is about to be commissioned.
"Commercial fishing tends to be synonymous with control and enforcement these days, but we want to place emphasis on proper management," Mr O'Donoghue says.
"Ultimately, this can be a sustainable resource if properly handled, and we want to match landings to what the market requires."
