Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 March 2025
608. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been brough to the fact that key stakeholders representing inshore and island fishermen are no longer participating in the North West Herring Committee; if he will meet with stakeholders (details supplied) to examine changes to the committee. [13469/25]
View answerIn August 2023, the then Minister announced the outcome of the limited review of the 2012 Herring Management Policy in relation to the Herring 6a South quota for non-ringfenced vessels.
Following this limited review, the then Minister established a North-West Herring Advisory Committee (NWHAC), comprising one representative from each of the six Producer Organisations, one representative from the National Inshore Fisheries Forum, one representative from the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association, and one representative from the Fish Co-Operative umbrella group. This committee was to be supported by organisations such as, but not exclusive to, the Marine Institute, BIM and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority.
The primary purpose of the NWHAC was to advise the Minister within the policy framework in relation to the management arrangements of the Herring 6a South quota and fishery, including such matters as contingency and opening/closing dates.
I am aware that some members of the NWHAC have indicated that they have withdrawn from the Committee. My Department has engaged with the NWHAC and the relevant organisations, and has outlined suggestions to facilitate their continued engagement in order to ensure that representative bodies of the relevant sectors involved in the North West Herring fishery work through the Committee to express their views and come to a common industry position in relation to the management of this fishery. However, if that does not prove possible, the provision of advice/recommendations on this fishery will have to revert to the Quota Management Advisory Committee (QMAC).
The QMAC is a formal consultative committee involving fishing industry representatives from the catching, inshore and processing sectors. The QMAC meets on a monthly basis to make recommendations to me as Minister on monthly/bi-monthly/quarterly regimes for particular stocks, and industry representatives bring the benefit of their knowledge and experience of fishing to these discussions.
