Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister may be surprised to hear that I welcome the change in approach on the part of some of his Department officials and his efforts to work with the industry around the blue whiting issue. The industry united and put in a tremendous effort. It was constantly out in Europe making the case for more fish and for fairness. I went to some of those meetings; it is asking for fairness. That is it. It is asking for the principles of the CFP to be respected. I ask the Minister to continue to fight with the industry as a united industry and to make sure he strikes a fair balance between the asks of the inshore sector and those of the larger fleet. It is about pulling them together and having a straight conversation around all of those issues. Right now, the allocation of mackerel and herring - we will see what happens with spurdog - to the inshore sector is not enough and it is not fair. One cannot stand over it. It is a public resource and the Minister has a responsibility to ensure he chairs and referees discussions and makes sure that what happens and what is left over is fair. If he wants to unite the industry, as we all do, the best way to do that is to be fair to everybody in the industry.

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