UK Fisheries Minister Visits Kilkeel

THE Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation (ANIFPO) was honoured to host the UK’s Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon MP during his visit to the fishing industry in Kilkeel this morning.

Mr. Benyon, accompanied by Hugo Swire MP, Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, was on his first visit to the County Down coast as Fisheries Minister.

At the port, Mr. Benyon met representatives of the industry from both Kilkeel and Ardglass in the ANIFPO’s office. Accompanied by Margaret Ritchie MP and ANIFPO’s Chairman Neil McKee, the Minister then embarked on a walking tour of the harbour, which culminated in a visit to Middleton Seafood’s scampi factory, where Manager Jack Cowden conducted the visitors on a tour of the factory floor.

During the quayside walkabout Minister Benyon was shown a net developed by local fishermen, which has dramatically reduced the catch of unwanted fish and went on board Neil McKee’s prawn trawler, the 'Oceanus'.

South Down MP Welcomes Fisheries Ministers To Kilkeel

Speaking after the visit South Down MP Margaret Ritchie said: “This visit follows on from a meeting I held with the Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon in October 2011. We had a very productive meeting today with Minister Hugo Swire and Minister Richard Benyon where the representatives of ANIFPO and I outlined the main priorities for the fishing industry in the years ahead. 

"Detailed representations were put forward regarding the need for the in-year increase in herring and the concerns regarding the Common Fisheries Policy Review.

"I put forward a strong case that the industry must be sustainable and that better use must be made of fisheries science. We must build our fishing fleet if we are to sustain our on-shore processing industry, which is vital to Kilkeel and Mourne area.

"Both Ministers were responsive to the needs of the industry and have taken away with them a very clear understanding of the importance of this industry to the local area and the great success that can be achieved when government works directly with the fishing industry to achieve the best results from the European Commission," added Ms Ritchie.

ANIFPO Encouraged by Fisheries Ministers Meeting

Alan McCulla OBE, Chief Executive of the ANIFPO, said: “We have been encouraging Mr. Benyon to visit the County Down ports for some considerable time, so today’s visit was very welcome.

Alan McCulla, ANIFPO Chief Executive

“During our meeting, which was attended by fishermen, fish salesmen and fish processors from Kilkeel and Ardglass, we discussed a range of issues including the future of fisheries management within the UK, proposals for Marine Protected Areas in the Irish Sea, the EU’s Cod Recovery Plan and issues relating to the long term management of the nephrops, as well as herring fisheries.

“The management of cod is at the core of many of the problems facing our fishermen. Yet while cod is a major challenge, this challenge does present opportunities and we were eager to impress these opportunities upon the Minister.

"We expressed our frustration that in respect of cod we are apparently nailed by a contradiction, because on one hand we can exhibit good news from our fisheries in terms of the already low by by-catch figures, which is important in exempting the fleet from effort restrictions on days at sea.

"At the same time, these low catch figures are used as evidence by some to claim that cod are commercially extinct in the Irish Sea, which as fishermen know is definitely not the case. The rules of the EU’s fisheries regime mean we are forced to avoid cod, but in doing so we cannot provide evidence about the abundance of cod in the Irish Sea. We provided Mr. Benyon with our plan designed to extract us from this contradiction and we pleaded with him to find a resolution to this problem.

The issue of the herring quota was also touched on and Mr McCulla said. "It was encouraging to hear Mr. Benyon confirm that the UK was aiming for a mid-year increase in the Total Allowable Catch, to correct the quota cut imposed by the EU in December. He agreed that an increase in the herring quota was justified, thus reflecting the abundance of this fish in the Irish Sea.

“We told both Ministers that when they left Kilkeel and Northern Ireland, we hoped they would take with them the message that we had a strong industry here, which could do even better if it were not suffering because of EU mismanagement, as well as a failure by UK Fisheries Departments to articulate positive arguments for the Irish Sea. The impression I got as they departed Kilkeel was that this message had been received, as well as understood, loud and clear.”