A NEW radio advertising campaign funded by a State agency has been criticised as a "misuse of public funds" by the Federation of Irish Fishermen.
The series of advertisements about the work of the Sea Fisheries Protection Agency is currently being broadcast on national and local radio.
The federation says the advertisements, which outline the work of the agency, are "insulting" to the fishing industry at a time when it is trying to nurture good relations with the monitoring agency. The agency has said that the five-week advertising initiative is part of a public awareness campaign.
The legislation referred to in these advertisements is also the subject of a promised review by Government, the federation points out. The Sea Fisheries Protection Agency was established more than a year ago to monitor and control fish catches within Irish waters, working with the Naval Service and Garda. It assumed control of these functions from the former Department of Marine, as part of a much tougher regime under the controversial Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act. However, the Government has given a commitment - reiterated by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in the Dáil last week - to examine the feasibility of amending the legislation.
"Fishermen are angry and insulted at this unprecedented public spin-doctoring against them in this manner," the federation, which represents the four main fishing industry organisations, said in a statement. "At a time when the now infamous fisheries legislation of 2006 is being reviewed by Government, as confirmed by the Taoiseach last week, this agency is publicly promoting the use of these same laws," it said.
In response, the Sea Fisheries Protection Agency said that the advertisements conveyed "a simple message that a compliant fishing sector is in the interests of all stakeholders" and said it aimed to highlight the agency's multi- faceted approach to achieve a culture of compliance.
