Today in Bantry Bay and in the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) around Garinish Island, two under 18m vessels have been pair trawling. While they are most likely fishing for sprat and that’s not illegal for these trawlers, we have three key questions for the Government:
1. Why are industrial vessels like these allowed pair trawl in our SACs?
2. With an ICES recommended annual limit on sprat fishing of 2,240 tonnes and a quota of 2,000 tonnes already fished by larger vessels, do you really believe the ban goes far enough to save the collapse of this species?
3. Are the SFPA monitoring all catches from such vessels and also from the over 18m trawlers that have been spotted in Cork and Kerry over recent weeks?
We continue to call for a moratorium (pause) on all sprat fishing within the 6 nautical mile zone and baselines to allow the stocks to recover thereby protecting the livelihood of small sustainable fishermen and ensuring food for our marine life.
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