The Existential Crisis Facing the Irish Fisheries Sector

The Irish fishing industry, a cornerstone of the country’s coastal communities and a vital part of the nation’s cultural and economic fabric, is facing an existential crisis. For very many, the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), coupled with post-Brexit quota cuts and a perceived lack of robust action from successive Irish governments, has only served to deepen the sense of crisis.

From draconian quota restrictions to inadequate financial support and sub-standard marine infrastructure, the policies governing Irish waters are threatening the livelihoods of fishermen and women, pushing an already beleaguered industry to the brink.

The CFP, designed to regulate fishing across EU member states, has long been a source of contention for Ireland. The policy allocates quotas based on historical fishing patterns, which disproportionately favour larger EU nations with more industrialised fleets.

As a result, Ireland, despite its vast 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) encompassing some of the richest fishing grounds in Europe, is left with a fraction of the catch. As one Irish opposition party leader put it during a recent parliamentary debate, of the estimated 1.6 million tonnes of fish extracted annually from Irish waters by pelagic fishing fleets, Ireland is allocated a mere 60,000 tonnes—a figure that starkly illustrates the inequity at the heart of the CFP.

This imbalance is compounded by post-Brexit quota cuts, which have further eroded Ireland’s access to its own waters. Indeed, the UK’s withdrawal from the EU led to a redistribution of fishing rights, with Ireland bearing a disproportionate burden. Provisions adopted as part of the the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), effective from 2021, significantly reshaped fisheries management in the North-East Atlantic.  This reshaped policy hit Ireland’s fisheries hard with reporting suggesting that Ireland’s most lucrative species quota, mackerel, were cut by 26% by 2026, equating to a loss of €27-28 million. This was a devastating blow that Irish fisheries have never recovered from as approximately 60% of Ireland’s mackerel catch historically came from UK waters, particularly around Scotland.

Just how stark the situation is while again highlighted recently by Irish opposition politicians-with one pointing to a scenario many Irish vessels can now exhaust their annual quotas in a matter of weeks. Smaller inshore vessels, which make up 91% of Ireland’s fishing fleet, face even greater challenges, with quotas so restrictive that many fishermen work continue to teeter on the edge of financial ruin.

The consequences are dire for coastal communities, particularly in counties like Donegal, Cork, and Kerry, who are steeped in a long history of fishing activity.

This can be seen most clearly in the growth in the number of boats that are being decommissioned. Irelands An Bord Iascaigh Mhara (Seafood Development Agency) estimates that under the Government’s Voluntary Permanent Cessation Scheme, that the owners of vessels with a total capacity of over 6,700 gross tonnes have accepted offers to decommission their vessels. An Bord Iascaigh Mhara insist however that this will not impact Ireland’s overall quota share but, will actually free up an estimated €30 million of quota for species such as prawns, hake, monkfish and haddock for those vessels remaining in the fleet.

This argument has been robustly challenged by boat operators and political representatives who have insisted that describing the decommissioning scheme as ‘voluntary’ is and best disingenuous, following on as it does from decades of political decision making that has made the industry essentially unviable from a financial perspective.

This has also ensured that many young people who once have wished to take up the tradition of fishing within their coastal communities are now turning away from fishing as a viable career.

The Irish government’s response to this crisis has been routinely described by fisheries advocates as woefully inadequate. In this regard it has been pointed out by Irish parliamentarians that in 2024, the budget allocation for fisheries and the seafood sector was slashed from €335 million to €176.9 million—a reduction of nearly 50%.

The industry response has been to suggest that a funding shortfall of this extent has inevitably limited investment in critical areas such as vessel modernisation, crew training, and marine infrastructure, although this point has been challenged by Government ministers who point to the fact that in 2023, Government spending on the seafood sector reached a record €416 million, a 63% increase from 2022.

It remains the case however that this was largely driven by the a time limited Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR), which funded schemes to mitigate the impacts of reduced fish quotas and disrupted trade post-Brexit.

Another critical issue is the absence of a fuel subsidy scheme for Irish fishermen. Fuel costs, which have soared in recent years, represent a significant portion of operating expenses for fishing vessels. The European Commission has introduced derogations under the European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to allow member states to implement fuel subsidies, a measure embraced by countries like France and Spain. There is a strong view in Ireland that while other nations have acted swiftly to support their fleets, with some even securing additional subsidy rounds-by contrast, Ireland has failed to introduce a similar scheme, despite nearly two years of calls from the fishing community and its political allies.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the previous Irish administration has countered this criticism by insisting that with respect to fuel, marine gas oil is unlike most other fuels in that there is no Revenue charge on it at all other than VAT, which can be reclaimed. He also accepted however that this can be problematic for smaller fishers because they may not be registered for VAT.

This inaction is particularly baffling given the clear provisions under the EMFF that allow governments to take such measures. The lack of a fuel subsidy places Irish fishermen at a competitive disadvantage, forcing them to bear unsustainable costs while their European counterparts benefit from state support. For fishermen in towns like Castletownbere, Bantry, and Kinsale, this failure is yet another example of a government that appears indifferent to their struggles.

There are however some admittedly weak indications that positive change may at last be forthcoming.

In early May fishing and seafood processing representatives described their first meeting with the new Marine Minister and his officials as positive Seafood Ireland spokesperson Dominic Rihan is reported as saying that the meeting, which was attended by all five Seafood Ireland alliance members also included inshore fisheries, seafood processing and aquaculture representatives.

Rihan said the minister signalled his interest in being “proactive at both national and European level on fishing and seafood sector issues” and as a result As a result “we are more optimistic now about the potential for positive change in Europe and here at home.”

There is also some hope that a sense of the true scale of the crisis might finally be acknowledged by EU Fisheries Commissioner to Ireland who is due to visit Ireland in May.

That being said many for those in the fisheries sector will not have forgotten a similar visit by former the EU Fisheries Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, in July 2015. At that time the former Irish Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney stated his belief that the visit was a very valuable opportunity for fisheries stakeholders to directly engage with the EU Commission on the overall importance of maritime affairs to Ireland and the challenges and opportunities in implementing a reformed Common Fisheries Policy.

Eight years in and it seems that nothing has been achieved and the EU Commission continues to ignore or at the very least downplay the scale of the existential crisis that looms over Ireland’s fisheries sector.

There is no doubt then that the Irish fishing industry is at a pivotal crossroads. The EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, with its skewed quota system and post-Brexit adjustments, has placed an unbearable strain on fishermen and women. Coupled with the Irish government’s budget cuts, failure to introduce a fuel subsidy, and neglect of critical infrastructure, the sector is facing a perfect storm of challenges. Without swift and decisive action, Ireland risks losing a vital part of its heritage and economy.