Eel anglers angry over proposed ban

Dear Editor, We, the undersigned democratically elected eel fishing representatives on Regional Fishery Boards and eel fisherman"s organisations in Ireland...Wish to protest strongly against the total ban on eel fishing which the Irish Government is proposing to implement in Ireland with the approval of the European Commission.The course of action is alarming from the perspective of Irish eel fishermen while simultaneously ineffective from an eel stocking viewpoint.It is accepted there is a problem with elver recruitment throughout Europe. Without adequate elver numbers the stock of eels will decline. It is also accepted that this problem needs to be addressed on a pan European basis. The EU issued a directive requesting governments to furnish it with their proposals regarding eel stocks and in particular what steps they intend to implement in order to allow 40% of adult eels to escape to spawning grounds. In the absence of a Government"s proposal the EU would implement a 50% reduction in fishing.The Department of Marine and Natural Resources established a working group to address this issue. Unfortunately this group did not include any representatives from the eel fishing community until representations were made by the various Fishery Boards for their inclusion. It would appear that by the time there was eel fishermen representation on this body the main decisions regarding the proposed course of action were already taken. No recent comprehensive survey of eel stock has been carried out in Ireland. Therefore the scientific basis for the total ban on eel fishing is not grounded on solid evidence regarding existing stocks.During 2008 severe restrictions were imposed on commercial eel fishing, including the introduction of a closed season. The working group invited submissions from interested parties. Several submissions were made by eel fishermen and their representative to reduce fishing effort for 2009 in order to arrive at a position which would satisfy the EU"s requirement while still continuing to fish on a reduced scale. These proposals were ignored.Irish commercial eel fishing represents approximately 2% of the total catch in Europe. The closure of this fishery will have minimal impact on elver recruitment, which is the issue that needs to be addressed. The Irish Government is proposing to close this fishery while all other EU eel fisheries will remain open, including the substantial eel fishery in Northern Ireland. It defies logic that a part of this island will close its eel fishery while another part continues to fish. Furthermore, some countries in the EU will continue to fish elvers and glass eels and sell a substantial portion of this catch for consumption.A number of Regional Fishery Boards passed resolutions opposing the introduction of a total ban by Ireland and these views were ignored.Irish eel fishermen will be the only eel fishermen in the EU put out of business as a result of this EU directive. Once again the Irish fishing community is at a disadvantage vis-a vis their European counterparts.It is accepted that Ireland is currently in an economic recession. It is incomprehensible that the Irish Government would be the only government in Europe to effectively close an indigenous industry and cause immense hardship to commercial eel fishermen while failing to achieve any positive result for eel stocks.No financial package has been offered to eel fishermen to compensate them for their loss of earnings or for their fishing gear and equipment.Later this year the Government will ask the Irish people to vote yes in another Lisbon Treaty Referendum to prove we are good Europeans. It would appear that in respect of eels we are the best Europeans in Europe, implementing a policy which far exceeds the requirements of the EU"s directive.We ask the Minister to revisit his decision and allow common sense and democracy to triumph over bureaucracy.Yours sincerelyJohn Hughes(Eel representative North Western Regional Fisheries Board)Kieran Lynch(Eel representative Northern Regional Fisheries Board)Tony Wilde(Eel representative Eastern Regional Fisheries Board)Pat Diggins(Eel representative Southern Regional Fisheries Board)Michael Flanagan(Eel representative Shannon Regional Fisheries Board)Seamus Mulvihill(Chairman Shannon Eel Fisherman"s Association)Des May(Western Eel Fisherman"s Association)Contact:John HughesBallinclogher West LixnawCo Kerry066 713 2506087 923 4562