THE European Union may have to "renationalise" European waters and hand control back to individual member states if fish stocks are to survive into the next century, a leading Scottish scientist has said.
Currently, New Zealand's Maoris and South African's "coloured" community have fairer access to their coastal resources than Irish and Scottish skippers enjoy within the EU, Mr David Thomson, a scientist with Inter Ed Ltd, told the Government's marine policy seminar in Galway yesterday.
Hosted by the Marine Institute, the policy seminar on marine food was attended by more than 300 people.
Nowhere else in the world is there this "peculiar phenomenon" of a "common pond", consisting of fishing grounds shared by a group of states, with equal access in principle, Mr Thomson said, addressing the session on sea fisheries.
In the Pacific, where over a dozen island states share migratory stocks of tuna, regional management of fishing has been achieved without surrendering national control, he said.
In Europe, both Ireland and Scotland have most to lose by the common arrangement, as both have the largest "fishable" 200 miles zone.
The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) favoured the large and powerful operators, catching more fish with bigger boats but offering less employment at sea and ashore than smaller, less efficient vessels, he said.
There was universal agreement about overfishing worldwide, but a cutback on dumping of by catches and small fish could increase global production by 40 per cent, Mr Thomson added.
A recent Fisheries and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) report found that 27 million tonnes of sea fish - more than a quarter of the world's marine catch - was being destroyed through by catches and discards.
Greater use of fish for human consumption rather than animal feed could also increase supplies, he said, as animal feed took over a third of the total catch.
Given the extent of Irish fishing grounds, Ireland has a strong case for a fairer deal from the EU, he said. Co operation with, rather than exploitation of, fishing interests in developing countries is also a possibility, he said. Irish fishermen might have the "sense of justice and fair play" to undertake such ventures for the benefit of both partners.
Chairing the session, Mr Joey Murrin of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO) called for a "new vision" in Ireland's approach to the CFP review in 2002.
Immediate and urgent reallocation of EU and state funds must be provided for a renewal of the whitefish fleet, Mr Martin Howley, chairman of the KFO; said.
The Government should also forget about buying a new marine research vessel and save money by chartering existing boats, he said.
Ireland still has some 19,000 tonnes in unused whitefish quotas, due to restraints on catching capacity through fleet tonnage restrictions, and a "tonnage bank" should be provided to enable young skippers to gain a foothold in the industry, Mr Pat Keogh, deputy chief executive of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), suggested.
Ireland had also to work out a viable negotiating strategy for review of the CFP, which would gain the support of at least a blocking minority among other EU member states, he said.
