The Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) is ready to discuss the crisis in a meeting with the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries. The commercial manager for Cork Port, Michael McCarthy, said movement in and out of the port was returning to normal after significant delays overnight. He added that the fishing fleet had been given permission to tie up in the city ahead of Friday’s meeting, but he warned that any further attempts to blockade the port would result in legal action.
Ebbie Sheehan, a spokesman for the southwest fleet, said that the blockade had been “temporarily suspended” pending the outcome of Friday’s meeting with Minister Brendan Smith. He informed that there were plans to begin a hunger strike outside the Department of Fisheries in Clonakilty if minister failed to agree for meeting. According to McCarthy the blockade had had a serious impact on industry in the region.
Labour’s spokesperson on the Marine, Senator Michael McCarthy has welcomed the move saying that Smith’s decision to meet with the FIF has come at right time. He also said that the Minister must come to realise that these fishermen have nothing to lose. McCarthy also called for an urgent meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries & Food to discuss the crisis.
Fine Gael’s Fisheries spokesman Michael Creed also welcomed the meeting but also said that it is right time for action rather than meetings in order to save the fishing industry from ruin. FIF also demand for stricter controls on traceability so consumers can see where the fish they are buying was caught. The FIF renewed its call for temporary tie-up aid and for a ban on illegal, unregulated and unreported products entering the EU.
