Teen f isher: Why do I have to stop my family tradition?
FISHING for pollock, a centuries-old tradition around Irish sea and inland communities, is being wiped out due to ruling by an international industry watchdog, fishermen have claimed.
Producer group the Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation (IIMRO) is calling for a new scientific study on pollock to be carried out urgently so that up-todate stock data can be collected to properly inform
‘Fishing is in my blood’
fisheries management.
The recent closure of the pollock fishery based on advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) is having a disproportionate social impact on island and inshore fishing communities, the organisation says.
The group claim that the current ICES advice is based on a new stock assessment benchmark that used flawed survey methods.
‘This has resulted in the catastrophic closure of the pollock fishery across a huge sea area from the west of Scotland to the French coast,’ the organisation said in a statement. ‘Such a drastic and socially destructive action based on flawed data will not improve the stock or any conservation objectives.’
The pollock closure has recently been highlighted by fisher and IIMRO member Muireann Kavanagh, 14, on Arranmore Island in Co. Donegal. She has fished for pollock with her uncle for the past two seasons from a small boat using a darróg, a traditional wooden frame for holding the line and the six hooks used to catch pollock from the inshore waters around her island home.
It’s a low-impact fishing method, which provides a high-quality catch for sale and local consumption.
The teenager explained: ‘Fishing is in my blood. I don’t see why I am being forced to stop a tradition that goes back hundreds of years in my family. It looks like my future has been decided for me by the Government and the EU.’
IIMRO members are offering to participate in a new scientific programme to collect linecaught pollock samples from inshore waters, which will give realistic data on stocks around the Irish coast and improve data for management.
The matter was raised in the Dáil last week by Donegal Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty, who said supertrawlers are being allowed to fish, while Muireann and her family are banned.
Addressing Micheál Martin, he said: ‘While Muireann is told that what she was doing is now illegal, she watches from her window the foreign supertrawlers off the coast of her island hoovering up thousands of tons of fish, including pollock, which your Government tells her that for them is perfectly legal.’
The Tánaiste replied: ‘The fishery is being closed on scientific advice, on the basis to make sure that stocks recover.’
‘Supertrawlers off the coast’