IRELAND HAS succeeded in exempting the Celtic Sea region from a new EU proposal on cod recovery after Minister of State for Fisheries Tony Killeen labelled the plan "draconian".
EU fisheries ministers meeting in Brussels reached a deal yesterday that includes a commitment to continue the practice of closing off targeted "conservation boxes" in the Irish Sea rather than simply cutting fishing across the board.
The commission had proposed to deal with the "overexploitation" of cod in areas including Ireland's northwest coast and the Irish Sea by cutting quotas and reducing the amount of time that vessels spend at sea. It had also planned to bring the Celtic Sea under the new rules.
However, Mr Killeen argued that the EU's approach would be unsuitable for the Celtic Sea area, off Ireland's south coast, and proposed instead that stocks be rebuilt through the introduction of smarter gear to avoid catching cod when trawling for other fish, and closing some areas to cod fishing.
"Our consistent and firmly held belief that the approach put forward by the commission was not suited to the Celtic Sea and would not effectively rebuild the cod stock was finally accepted," Mr Killeen said yesterday.
"I am very pleased that the council supported and took on board my approach."