SEAFOOD SECTOR TASKFORCE PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Seafood Sector Taskforce public consultation. The Seafood Sector Taskforce committee is now seeking written submissions or observations within the scope of the terms of reference in advance of publication of the interim report.

Please email your submissions to taskforce@bim.ie before 22 April 2021.

The Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM), Charlie McConalogue T.D., announced the establishment of a Seafood Sector Taskforce on 26 February 2021. The Taskforce was established to make recommendations to the Minister on measures to mitigate the impacts of the fish quota share reductions, arising from the EU/UK Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA), on the Irish Fishing industry and on the coastal communities that depend on fisheries.

Terms of Reference

The Task Force will examine the implications arising from the EU/UK TCA for the Irish Fishing industry and coastal communities particularly dependent upon it. It will, in particular, outline initiatives that could be taken to provide supports for development and restructuring so as to ensure a profitable and sustainable fishing fleet and to identify opportunities for jobs and economic activity in coastal communities dependent on fishing. The Task Force will consider how all available funding streams could be used to address, to the extent possible, the initiatives identified and the State agencies to support those initiatives. The Task Force will also consider and recommend constructive actions that would help to alleviate the inequitable relative contribution of quota share by Ireland in the EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The examination and initiatives identified will relate to:

• the Irish fishing fleet
• the Irish seafood processing industry
• other marine support industries
• coastal communities particularly dependent on the seafood industry.

Work Programme and Consultation

The Task Force will be charged with producing an interim report within two months of its establishment. This will focus on arrangements for a temporary voluntary fleet tie up scheme, to counter the impact of the reduction in quotas which will begin to occur from April. The Task Force will also be charged with producing a full report within four months.

The task force committee is now seeking written submissions or observations within the scope of the terms of reference in advance of publication of the interim report. Please email your submissions to taskforce@bim.ie before the 22 April 2021.

The Taskforce

The Taskforce is chaired by Aidan Cotter (barrister and former CEO of Bord Bia). Mr Cotter will be assisted by a steering group comprised of Margaret Daly (Deputy CEO of seafood processor Errigal Bay Ltd) and Mícheal Ó Cinnéide (former Director of the EPA and former Director in the Marine Institute and presently on the board of the Aquaculture Licensing Appeals Board).

The task force committee is made up of participants from the following organisations:

• Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation
• Irish Fish Producers Organisation
• Irish South & West Fishermen’s Organisation
• Irish South & East Fishermen’s Organisation
• Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation PO
• National Inshore Fisheries Forum
• Fishermen’s Co-operatives (4 main Coops)
• Irish Fish Processors & Exporters Organisation
• Irish farmers Association (aquaculture branch)
• Fisheries Local Action Groups (1 representative of the 7 FLAGs)
• Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine
• Bord Iascaigh Mhara (secretariat)
• Enterprise Ireland
• Tourism Ireland
• Local Government Management Agency (two coastal local authority representatives)
• Údarás na Gaeltachta representative

Background

The UK left the EU on Friday 31 January 2020 on the terms set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. On 24 December, the EU and UK negotiating teams reached agreement in principle on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which came into effect from the end of the transition period.

The TCA between the EU and UK will see significant reductions in Ireland’s quotas for some key stocks, most notably mackerel and prawns, as part of the agreed transfer of quotas to the UK. These quota reductions will begin in 2021 and on a phased basis will result in a loss to Ireland of stocks worth €43 million per annum by 2026 or a 15% reduction overall in Irish fish quotas. To manage the transition to the new reality under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), a financial support package for the Irish fishing industry funded from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) is likely.

On 25 December 2020, the European Commission published a Proposal for an EU Regulation establishing the BAR. The objective of the proposed BAR is to provide support to counter the adverse consequences of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in Member States, regions and sectors, in particular those that are worst affected by that withdrawal, and to mitigate the related impact on the economic, social and territorial cohesion. The draft Regulation is subject to negotiations in the Council and European Parliament and its provisions may change. It is proposed that the BAR would have a budget to assist Ireland in funding appropriate measures in 2021 and 2022 to assist the worst affected sectors of our economy. Any support measures for the seafood sector proposed under Ireland’s BAR allocation need to be considered at a national level in the context of competing demands from other areas of our economy that have been impacted by Brexit. Any measures, proposed for implementation under the BAR, that are not covered by State Aid rules will require a separate application under State Aid guidelines.

In December 2020, political agreement was reached in the negotiation of the new European Maritime, Fisheries & Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) 2021-27 and it is anticipated that the EU Regulation will be enacted in April 2021. The EMFAF will provide EU co-funding to Member State operational programmes for the development of their seafood sectors. Ireland is to be allocated €142 million and the overall size of Ireland’s new Seafood Development Programme 2021-27 will then be determined by the extent of Government co-funding. The new programme will allow the Minister to implement various support schemes for the fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors and for coastal communities. The new Programme will replace Ireland’s present EMFF Programme 2014-20, which has nearly exhausted its funds.

Freedom of Information/Data Protection

BIM is collecting submissions to inform the Task Force Committee. All submissions, including the name of the person, or organisation, will be published in the final report. If you wish to make a submission but not be identified publicly this can be accommodated provided it is clearly indicated when the submission is made. When making a submission please indicate if you agree, or not, to your name being published.

Freedom of Information

All submissions and comments submitted for this purpose are subject to release under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2014 and the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007- 2014. Submissions are also subject to Data Protection legislation. Personal, confidential or commercially sensitive information should not be included in your submission and it will be presumed that all information contained in your submission is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

Data Protection

This data will be processed in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR EU 2016/679), the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018, the Freedom of Information Act 2014 and the DPER Consultation Principles and Guidance. Any additional personal data received as part of your submission will not be processed, shared, or retained and will be destroyed upon receipt. Publication of personal data associated with submissions will only take place where permission is received to do this.

Privacy Statement

BIM is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and employs appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access. BIM will not process your personal data for any purpose other than that for which they were collected. Personal data may be exchanged with other Government Departments, local authorities, agencies under the aegis of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, or other public bodies, in certain circumstances where this is provided for by law.

BIM will only retain your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which they were collected and subsequently processed. When the business need to retain this information has expired, it will be examined with a view to destroying the personal data as soon as possible, and in line with Department policy.

Listen

Source