THE V-notching scheme announced this week by the Dept of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine have been welcomed as an important part of fisheries conservation.
The scheme was announced as part of supports announced by Minister McConalogue targeting Ireland’s 2,000-strong inshore fisihing fleet, which are registered fishing vessels under 12 metres in length who do not use towed gear.
V-notching is a method used to help replenish lobster stocks, by removing pregnant lobster from the catch, marking them with a V, and returning them to the sea. The scheme aims to improve the sustainability of this fishery, which is of significant importance to the inshore fishing fleet in particular. Some 190,000 lobsters were v-notched in the six years between 2018 and 2023, weighing more than 140,000 kgs with an estimated 2.8 billion eggs released back into the water. Fishers who completed v-notching over this period received €1.9m grant aid administered by BIM.
Fianna Fail Cork West Deputy Christopher O’Sullivan welcomed the return of the v notching programme. ‘This has been an incredible success from a conservation point of view but also putting money in fishers’ pockets. The added bonus of this scheme is it will be 100% of market value as opposed to 75% as it was previously.’
Meanwhile enhanced grant rates of 80% willl be available to these vessels to support both on-board and on-shore investment.
The Sustainable Fisheries Scheme will provide support to all registered fishing vessels (other than the small-scale coastal fishing vessels) for on-board investment. Both the Inshore Fisheries Scheme and the Sustainable Fisheries Scheme support investment by fishing vessels in more selective gear that reduces catches of juvenile and/or over quota species.
The fourth scheme being opened is the Seafood Processing Capital Investment Scheme. This scheme will provide important support for capital investment in the seafood processing sector, which employs approximately 4,000 people in rural coastal communities.
Deputy O’Sullivan acknowledged financial supports are still needed for inshore boats impacted by the collaps e of ht crab and shrimp markets over the pasts 12 months.
