Mayo’s coastal communities left to pay price of EU fisheries deal - TD
A Mayo TD has strongly criticised the outcome of recent EU fisheries negotiations, warning that decisions taken in Brussels will have immediate and damaging consequences for fishing communities across Mayo, particularly in ports such as Killala, Achill, Clare Island and Westport.
Deputy Paul Lawless stated: “The latest EU agreement has imposed catastrophic quota reductions on key stocks vital to the west coast fleet.
"Ireland stands to lose approximately 57,000 tonnes of quota next year, valued at around €94 million in direct catch a figure that balloons to nearly €200 million once processing, logistics, and export impacts are taken into account.
“These cuts threaten up to 2,300 jobs in coastal communities including many in Mayo ports and will decimate the small fleet at the heart of our local economies.
"The agreement enforces draconian cuts in critical pelagic stocks a 70% reduction in mackerel, a 41% drop in blue whiting, and a 22% decrease in boarfish disproportionately harming Irish fishermen who hold the largest share of mackerel quota in western waters.
“Worse still, this outcome was compounded by the unprecedented blocking of the Hague Preferences, a decades‑old safeguard designed to protect Ireland’s under-developed fleet from severe quota losses.
"The bloc of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland successfully opposed the application of this mechanism, leaving Ireland and, in turn, Mayo’s fishing communities exposed.”
“For Mayo’s fishermen who already operate on narrow margins these cuts raise serious questions about the long‑term viability of vessels and the survival of shore‑based businesses such as processors, chandlers, hauliers, and repair services.
"When a historic safeguard was quietly set aside, the Government chose to acquiesce rather than confront. That failure will now be paid for by fishing families in Mayo.”
Deputy Lawless added: “If this passes unchallenged, it will happen again. Mayo’s fishing communities will be expected to absorb deeper and deeper cuts while other states protect their own interests.
"If Ireland accepts that its protections can be ignored without challenge, then Mayo’s fishermen will pay that price again and again.
“I am calling for targeted supports for Mayo’s fishing ports, immediate engagement with local fishing organisations, and a fundamental reassessment of Ireland’s approach to EU fisheries negotiations to ensure that coastal counties are not repeatedly sacrificed under the Common Fisheries Policy.
"Our coastal communities cannot be treated as expendable. If the Government will not defend them at EU level, then it must answer for that failure at home.”