Muireann, 14, vows to defy minister and keep on fishing
A TEENAGE girl has vowed to keep fishing off the coast even if it lands her in trouble with gardaí after a new rule banned her and her family from keeping their traditional business alive.
Muireann Kavanagh, 14, was so incensed by a new zero-catch scenario recommended to rebuild pollock stock off the northwest coast that she wrote to Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue.
In that letter, Muireann, who lives on Arranmore Island off Donegal, wrote how she was ‘disgusted’ by the decision and said the ban effectively means that she will be unable to go out with her family and preserve the tradition which has been in place for generations.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, Muireann and her father Nellie said they will ignore any ban in place.
‘I go out with six hooks to catch these fish,’ Muireann explained. ‘These are six hooks worth about €35 that I can hold in one hand. I would not be making an impact on stocks whatsoever.
‘When we got the text finding out what was happening, I just couldn’t believe it. It made me so angry.’
She added: ‘I wrote the minister a letter on December 20, 2023 and got a response last week. He didn’t answer my questions so I am going back to him. It’s been frustrating in quite a few ways and it was frustrating to hear he wouldn’t listen to us. He kind of blew us off.’ She said ‘we don’t really think he would have answered us at all’ if her letter had not been shared on Facebook.’
Her father Nellie added: ‘We’re going to keep going out... If they give us a fine or whatever, we won’t be paying. I don’t think they’ll be throwing Muireann into prison now but I won’t be paying the fine so they’ll have to put me in there. It’s something we feel very strongly about and we won’t be backing down from this.’
Speaking in the Dáil last month, Minister McConalogue said: ‘Given the scientific advice for pollock stock, the need to balance socioeconomic considerations with achieving good biological status for stocks, setting a by-catch only TAC [total allowable catch] is the most appropriate approach.’