Status of Fish Stocks

the Marine Institute's Fisheries Science Services fish Stock Book for 2009 can be found on the link below

http://www.marine.ie/home/publicationsd ... tock+Book/

Ok, so i have only flicked through that really briefly but something didn't seem right.

Irish fishermen(as far as i am aware) have done a far amount of complaining about how much other countries are allowed to take from "Irish waters" or at least, something to that effect. In particular i hear the names France and Spain in relation to overfishing and fishing where they shouldn't be and whatnot.

The thing is, according to that publication, Ireland seems to take an awful lot of fish considering its such a tiny Country. If you were to work out the tonnage of fish taken per person, there would be alot more taken per person in Ireland than France.

So, its late, i'm very tired and im trying to do schoolwork but have i missed something crucial? Could someone explain this? Or are Irish fishermen just making noise because they want the waters all to themselves?

Thanks