IRISH FISHING INDUSTRY leaders have said that a new EU quota deal, which will see a significant reduction in the amount of mackerel and other fish that can be caught, is “catastrophic” for Irish fishers.

EU fisheries ministers concluded Agri-Fish Council negotiations early this morning, reaching a deal on allowable fishing quotas for 2026 for countries in the bloc.

According to a statement from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the agreement will “result in severely reduced fishing opportunities for 2026″.

The agreement will result in a 70% drop in the total allowable catch for mackerel, along with a 41% reduction in blue whiting and a 22% reduction in boarfish. This is as a result of depleted stock due to overfishing.

The Seafood Ireland Alliance, a group of fishing and processing companies, strongly criticised the deal.

“The consequences will be catastrophic,” said Aodh O’Donnell of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO). The group puts the estimated loss at €94 million. 

According to the SIA, the Irish fishing industry will have 57,000 tonnes less quota to fish in 2026. They said this threatens 2,300 jobs in coastal communities and that the wider economic impacts could reach €200 million next year. 

“The EU has failed Ireland’s fishing industry repeatedly. This latest failure means utter devastation and effectively the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) as a policy has failed,” O’Donnell said.

It’s symptomatic of a fundamentally unfair system where large Member States and big business can dictate what happens to the Irish fishing industry.

The department said that the reduction was based on scientific advice which “reflect the impact of overfishing of the mackerel stock by certain third countries”.

Ireland has consistently called for action against those countries who overfish mackerel. Given that Ireland holds the largest share of EU quota for mackerel in the western waters area, the devastating impact of the decline in this stock will be acutely felt.

Hague Preferences blocked

Fisheries junior minister Timmy Dooley said that he had invoked the Hague Preferences for 2026, a mechanism whereby Ireland can be granted a higher proportional quota than other members states in order to account for Ireland’s underdeveloped fleet and to counter the impact of access to Irish waters provided to vessels of other EU nations.

However this was blocked by a number of other EU states, a move Dooley called “extremely disappointing”.

Industry leaders in the SIA also strongly criticised the move.

“A long standing agreement based on access to Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone has been broken tonight,” said John Lynch of the Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation (IS&EFPO).  

This is a sad day for the Irish fishing industry, a very sad day for Ireland and a disaster for the dysfunctional fisheries council process.