Skippers say €48m West Cork wharf expansion will not benefit Irish trawlers

This is because, they say, so few Irish skippers are able to actually fish on a regular basis any more because of post-Brexit EU quota restrictions on the amount of fish they are allowed to catch.

National Inshore Fishermen’s Association (NIFA) chairman Michael Desmond said: “In the past year alone, we estimate that at least around 300 to 350 of our members who were full-time fishermen and women this time last year have either quit the industry or gone part-time.

“They can’t cope with the way the industry is at the moment.

“This new wharf may well be trumpeted as benefiting the Irish fishing industry but very few of our members will ever benefit from projects like these.

“It would have been better if the millions ploughed into this project had been invested directly into fishermen and women.”

South and West Fish Producers Organisation CEO Patrick Murphy said: “This will be little more than a glorified car park for underused boats.

“It’s all very well investing in wonderful projects like this, but in the time it took to complete, we’ve seen 16 trawlers decommissioned.

“Added to that, our quotas have been slashed and the industry continues to be in serious decline.”

The entire industry suffered a 25% cut to its total fishing quotas in a post-Brexit deal between Britain and the EU that largely benefitted bigger EU states ahead of Ireland.

As well as a cut in quota, around 40 fishing vessels have since been decommissioned and destroyed, and the associated jobs lost.

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said: “The [wharf] is the culmination of one of the most significant investments ever made in West Cork.

“The continuous development of the infrastructure in the harbour is critical to the fishing fleet and the land-based seafood processing industry.

“This critical infrastructure further demonstrates the importance this Government places on safeguarding the future of our fisheries dependent coastal communities.”

The minister pointed out that the new works means Castletownbere can now facilitate vessels of up to 100m long.

The project was funded through the Department of Agriculture’s Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, with part funding of €6.55m from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

The expansion sees an additional 216m quayside, bringing to a total now of 400m of quayside available on Dinish Island and, with the new breakwaters providing sheltered berthing conditions, the minister said Castletownbere now “has state-of-the-art, world class facilities that generations to come will benefit from”.

He added: “The six fishery harbour centres are critical infrastructure for our seafood industry.

“By attracting increased fish landings, we will deliver the raw materials to drive and maximise the opportunities for primary and secondary processing and ensure a strong Irish seafood processing industry.”