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Reports on overfishing of monk state that non-Irish vessels are operating in areas southwest of The Porcupine all the way up to northwest waters in depths of 300 to 400 fathoms, and have on board between 100 to150 miles of tangle nets.
The Norwegian authourities have been monitoring the effects of this tangle net gear on the stocks, and fishery expert Nils Roar Hareide believes this gear is being fished 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year.
According to Mr Haeride's findings, these vessels use this amount of gear to get the maximum catch as quickly as possible, and then leave the nets out whilst returning ashore to land, mainly in Scotland.
He added that when these boats return to the grounds, small or rotten fish caught in the nets are discarded and operations resume. It is believed that the gear has continued to catch and kill fish for the duration of the vessels' absence, and large amounts of this gear is later dumped.
In a statement to The Irish Skipper, the Department the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources said it “noted this information on alleged overfishing of monk and has passed the information on to the Naval Service”.
Asked about the role of the Irish Navy in relation to fishery patrol, the Department said that the “overall objective for Irish Sea fisheries surveillance and control is to ensure compliance by all fishing vessels with the requirements of EU and national fisheries law”.
The statement added that strategies for delivering on this objective were “designed with a view to ensuring the optimum usage of the resources available.
In relation to landing declarations of all non-Irish vessels, these are recorded by the Department and submitted to the EU in accordance with relevant Regulations.
The catch of all vessels is recorded in a vessel’s EU log-book. The Irish control authorities check log books against actual catch on board. In relation to non-Irish vessels, checking of relevant individual boat quotas is the responsibility of the flag state.
Naval Service protection statistics show that during 2000, 613 Irish vessels were boarded for inspection from 1234 sightings.
A total of 294 Spanish, UK-registered Spanish and Irish-registered Spanish vessels were boarded from 401 signtings.
Only three German-registered vessels were boarded during the same period. (Some 49 per cent of boardings in 2000 and 48 per cent to May 2001 are of non-Irish vessels).
The Irish Skipper has also been informed that up to 20 German vessels have been seen operating at any one time in grounds off the west coast.
In relation to German- registered flagships, it is particularly noticeable that the total German quota for monk in Area VII is 240 tonnes – the approximate equivalent of 100 working days at 75 boxes per day for one vessel.
Figures for the current year up to May show that of the 216 Irish vessels boarded, seven were detained.
Of the 128 Spanish, UK and Irish-registered Spanish vessels, seven were detained. Four German registered vessels were also boarded during this same period.
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