In September of 2010 Minister Sean Connick signed into law a Statutory Instrument that gave effect to a new regime in relation to the weighing of Pelagic Fish. This Statutory Instrument made it an offence to use a weighing system which has not been approved by the Legal Metrology Service of the National Standards... Read More
President of Iceland critics Common Fisheries Policy On the 15th of September the President of Iceland was talking on CNN’s world business programme and while he was ostensibly on to discuss the situation today as a result of the collapse of the Icelandic banking system, he ended up commenting on the European Union common... Read More
In the current climate, it is an unfortunate, but nonetheless real problem, that people find that debts due and owing have not been paid. This applies to the fishing industry just as much as any other sector or segment of the economy. The Contract The first thing which needs to be examined by anybody... Read More
Ireland is a party to the 1952 Arrest Convention (the 1952 convention). As such, while the mechanism within Ireland may be somewhat different, the manner and rights afforded under the convention equally apply in Ireland as they do in other convention states. This brought a more international mechanism of arresting vessels in Ireland which... Read More
Big Brother arrives to Fishing Fleet? While this time of the year is dominated by the discussions in Brussels, the emphasis being on what is the outcome for each and every Fisherman next year. The headline usually focuses on what the cuts are in relation to species. While the big headlines this year related... Read More
In a trial that was heard before Waterford Circuit Criminal Court on the 17th and 18th of November, a Dunmore East fisherman was accused of fishing for scallops while not in the possession of an authorization to do so. Allegation The incident dated back to May 2006 when the authorization scheme for scallop fishing... Read More
As of the 1st of September of this year the omega gauge has been rolled out for the purpose of measuring fishing nets to determine mesh size. This replaced the well established practice of measuring the nets using the wedge gauge that was pushed by Sea Fishery inspectors into the actual net. In the... Read More
European Communities (Workers on Board Sea Going Fishing Vessels) (Organisation of Working Time) Regulations 2003. These Regulations were introduced by the then Minister with responsibility for Fisheries, Dermot Ahern TD. The regulations introduced several provisions of European Law and created several obligations on the Master of a Sea Fishing vessel registered in Ireland. The... Read More
At the beginning of the year, work commenced on a new draft regulation which effectively will become a super regulation. This regulation is an attempt by Brussels to harmonise the approach taken to the common fisheries policy. It is hoped by the authors of this regulation, that it will achieve ‘ high standards and... Read More
Boarding ladder causes a stumble but not a tumble….. An Irish Sea Fishing vessel was prosecuted for failing to provide an adequate boarding ladder when asked to do so by a Naval boarding party. The request was made in the course of a routine inspection. The Boarding party immediatly commented on the ladder, but... Read More
