The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue T.D., today announced that he has decided to designate five additional Irish ports for UK registered Northern Ireland vessel landings for both IUU and NEAFC purposes.
The five new ports designated are Greencastle, Rathmullen and Burtonport in Donegal, Ros a Mhíl and Howth. They join Killybegs and Castletownbere which continue to be designated for landings from vessels of any third country origin.
The Minister has confirmed that he is working to make sure the necessary notifications and requirements are in place to have these ports operational from Monday, 1 February.
Under the new designations Ros a Mhíl and Howth will be able to accommodate landings of demersal fish from vessels under 24 metres and will operate Monday to Friday from 10am to 10pm.
Greencastle, Rathmullen and Burtonport will be designated for non-quota species landings from vessels under 18 metres and will operate from 2pm to 8pm from Monday to Friday.
From 1st January 2021, the United Kingdom is a third country and subject to Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) legislation and North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) requirements. This means that any UK, including Northern Ireland, registered vessels must comply with third country landing requirements when landing in the EU, including Irish ports and is a direct result of Brexit and included in the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland. Up until a conclusion of an agreement on the future relationship between the UK and the EU on Christmas Eve, it remained unclear whether Northern Ireland vessels that had access to Irish waters would continue to do so.
The Minister commented, “this is an important decision which will allow fishers in small vessels to continue their livelihoods in a safe manner.”
He went on to say “following Brexit, it is important now more than ever, to support our fishers and fishing communities and to do all we can do help them continue their livelihoods.”
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