Are we allowing our seas to be raided?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance. Apparently everyone in Europe thinks we're nuts because of our fishing quotas. That's according to the owner of Gannett Fishmongers in Galway, Stefan Griesbach, who joins me now, along with Sinn Féin's Pádraig MacLachlan, who is the party's fisheries and marine spokesperson. But Stefan, to you first, what is the problem as you see it?
Well, the problem is, good morning first, the problem is just the way we're managing our fisheries. I think, well, we've sold out our fishing rights to the EU, and within this, we're not really controlling the way we're catching fish in Ireland. It's just a lot of, in my opinion, unsustainable practice. We're not looking at the artisanal fishing as the main source of production because most of the fish has to be exported. There's low demand for seafood in Ireland, and the demand is very specific to certain species.
What are the issues with fishing quotas in Europe?
We're not trying to encourage people to eat a greater variety of fish. It's been an ongoing problem for generations, so it's not new. But now that the fishing has come at a standstill, we're seeing a big problem with the industry.
Okay, so what are we doing? We're catching fish, but we are exporting it.
Yeah, we're catching fish for the export market. That's most of the food industry in Ireland anyway. Everything is targeted towards the export, and then we're replacing with import. I mean, the fish industry is the case, the vegetable industry is the case. That was in the news recently as well. We don't produce food anymore anymore. There's a lot of talk from politicians about food Food safety and food, not food safety. Food security, yeah.
How is Ireland managing its fishing rights?
Food security. And I mean, if you're looking at the figures, except for the beef and the lamb industry, which are strong in Ireland, the rest, we are not, like, no, we cannot rely on our own production anymore.
So the fish that we eat here in Ireland, you say 80% of that is imported.
At least 80% is imported, yeah.
That sounds crazy, doesn't it?
It's ridiculous, like, you know, and I've been, like, you know, we've been shouting that for years, but like, you know, That's the reality of it. I mean, your salmon that you'll find in shops or restaurants is usually from Norway. Your sea bass, sea bream has been farmed in Greece. You'll have egg, which kind of used to be a reliable fish for us in Ireland. Again, because the fleet has been decimated, most of the egg come from Scotland. One thing I liked in that interview last week was there's egg coming all the way from Namibia.
The egg comes from Namibia.
Namibia, not all of it, but like, you know, when there's shortage of egg, like, you know, on the, well, when there is no egg to be found in Scotland, some importers will bring in egg from Namibia, fresh egg from Namibia.
So, do we have egg in our waters here?
We do have plenty of egg. We do have, well, the stocks have gone down a little bit, but we still do have plenty of egg. But we're not getting enough of it because the fleet, like, you know, the fleet has been shrunk to, like, you know, to nothing. Like, you go around the harbour, around Ireland, and, like, you know, there's no boats anymore. We decommissioned everything. We, like, you know, we have a few big boats standing up in Donegal. Like, you know, we're very proud of them. They're big and beautiful, but, like, you know, the rest of the harbours are empty.
Okay, well, let's bring in Pádraig MacLachlan on this, too. So, are our waters being plundered by foreign trawlers with our consent, Pádraig?
Yes, the answer is yes. I mean, common fisheries policy has been disastrous for Our country in terms of, you know, we have this huge resource, the sea around us. We're an island nation and we're trapped in 1970s, 1980s European policy.
Why is there a low demand for seafood in Ireland?
So those who had a track record continue to get the fish. And that means the injustice is locked in. You know, you can't change the injustice. We really, as a people, but our governments have allowed this passively for a long, long time. But it gets even worse because you have a common fisheries policy that rewards the industrialisation of fishing.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–1:00
2
What are the issues with fishing quotas in Europe?
1:00–1:51
3
How is Ireland managing its fishing rights?
1:51–3:55
4
Why is there a low demand for seafood in Ireland?
3:55–10:07
5
What percentage of fish consumed in Ireland is imported?
10:07–15:27