Spotter plane surveillance thrice weekly, observers on board and naval inspections at sea, dockside visits by officers who don't need a warrant - this is the price of successful resource management in most coastal states nowadays. But loss of "freedom" does not have to lead to loss of income, a group of international experts agreed at a seminar in south Connemara last week.
The speakers from Tasmania, Canada's Newfoundland, France and the US were guests at the first international seminar for inshore fisheries, hosted by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) in Carna, Co Galway. They came with a message that even the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, admitted being "a bit frightened of". Though he was there to announce "radical changes" in inshore management, including new conservation and diversification measures and a crackdown on unregistered small boats, the Minister was taken aback at enforcement and controls elsewhere.
Most Irish skippers are used to tough measures as part of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy, and representative organisations are largely supportive of them when controls are even-handed. The reality is they are not, with variations in imposition between member-states.
In the "near shore zone" - that is, within this 12-mile territorial limit - indigenous small vessels work mainly on shellfish and salmon. These landings have been largely managed by co-operatives, with the lobster being the only non-quota species now demanding a national approach. Since the mid-1990s, a programme to conserve lobster stocks known as "V-notching" of females has developed to the stage that over 30 local co-operatives support it.
This initiative was driven by the industry, and further conservation measures will succeed only if fishermen want them and realise their value, the international speakers agreed.
Dr Rick Officer, of Tasmania's Marine Institute, described how a lucrative abalone fishery in Tasmanian waters could have gone into terminal decline if there had not been early acceptance among abalone divers of the need for regulations, including limited entry and drastic quota reductions. Latterly, stocks recovered, quotas were increased, and prices improved because of a global shortage of abalone. Penalties for breaches are severe, he said, with 27 months being the longest jail sentence for offenders. The fact that the industry was well organised and had a vested interest in enlightened decision-making was crucial, he said.
A similar picture was painted by Mr Dave Taylor, a scientist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada. Limited entry, quotas, catch restrictions, seasons, trap limits, trip limits and monitored weekly landings make for a highly regulated industry, and on-board observers are paid for by the skippers from a central kitty, he said.
"The motivation for success was that this was the only fishery we had left," Mr Taylor said, in reference to the dramatic closure of the Newfoundland cod fishery in recent years. "Fishermen have changed their attitude," he said. "Undersize fish are no longer discarded in a contemptuous fashion, and fishermen are no longer just using the resource, but are harvesting it."
Some 12,000 people are dependent on Ireland's inshore sector. The first review of it, published by BIM in May 1999, noted almost half of those employed directly in Irish fleets are working inshore. Two years ago, inshore fisheries contributed approximately £30 million to the economy, and accounted for about 21 per cent of all fish landed.
The report included recommendations, several of which have already been acted upon. It was Mr Fahey's task in Carna last Friday to announce further implementation. Key elements of the new package include a £2.9 million programme to encourage diversification, including redirection of skilled people into marine tourism and sea angling, and establishment of inshore fisheries committees in north Donegal, north Mayo, west Galway, south Galway, Dingle, Valentia/Cape Clear and south Wexford.
A national inshore fisheries co-ordination group has been established and two new conservation/management measures are being introduced for spider crab and crayfish. A national "V-notching" programme for lobsters will continue. There will be a new lobster research and conservation pilot scheme, and a premium quality whitefish pilot programme in the Carna area.
The package includes improved marketing of inshore products, such as crab and wild salmon, and a campaign to improve hygiene and quality on vessels.
According to the Minister, investment in the inshore sector will rise to between £2 million and £3 million annually over the next five years. "Nothing will happen without your support," he told the gathering.
