Fisheries Authority seeks video surveillance in factories

What would you make of this?

Fisheries Authority seeks video surveillance in fish factories


http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sect ... -1.1932451

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has decided to initiate video surveillance within fish factories as a licensing condition, following allegations of “deliberate tampering” with a weighing system within one factory in the northwest.
The State authority which regulates the sea-fishing and seafood sectors also wants all pelagic (herring/mackerel) fish to be weighed on the pier, until a new “tamper-proof” system of weighing in factories can be introduced.

Current permits issued by the authority to factories were suspended last June, following a sweep of factory premises last January by the SFPA, in association with the Garda, Naval Service and National Standards Authority of Ireland.

The inspection sweep is said to have found that weighing systems could be “deliberately manipulated” – although evidence of this was only found on one premises.
The authority has confirmed that “irregularities were detected of varying degrees of seriousness and, in at least one instance, a joint case is being considered by the DPP on behalf of both SFPA and NSAI”. It says factories have been invited to apply for new permits, and says “several applications have been received and the process is ongoing”.

However, fishermen and processors have criticised the authority’s response as “over the top” and have said that “draconian” measures are being introduced “without a shred of evidence” of any “systematic wrongdoing”.
Hundreds of million of euros worth of landings could be lost to Ireland if the measures are introduced, the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association has warned, on the eve of the opening of the Celtic Sea herring fishery – an opening already delayed to the brewing row over the SFPA measures.

Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association chief executive Lorcan Ó Cinnéide says that the quality of herring could be destroyed if it is weighed on the pier, as it would involve separating water from fish.
The quality of mackerel – a fishery quoted as worth €1 billion to the Irish economy – would also be comprised by this practice, it has said, as chilled water is “absolutely essential to the quality of the product”.
The association has also sought legal advice on the introduction of video surveillance – described as “remote monitoring of the continuous flow weigh belt” on SFPA permit conditions.

In a letter sent to Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney this week, the IFPEA and the Federation of Irish Fishermen have accused the SFPA of generating a “full-blown crisis”, in spite of “prolonged and serious efforts” by the two organisations to resolve the issue.
The “crisis” is “in danger of shutting down the entire industry”, the organisations warn Mr Coveney. “We agree that there should be regulation to ensure there is no wrongdoing, but the SFPA does not seem to want to work towards a resolution.”

EU regulations require fish to be weighed at the place of landing, but Ireland received a derogation from this as fish have to be transported from the quay to factories.

Will the dutch factory fleet west of achill for 6 months get fitted with cctv? It will force boats to land elsewhere and the already deprived coastal rural communities will be hit the hardest

The fact that boats might land elsewhere is no reason to turn a blind eye to illegal activities. If we keep it legal we might be landing them for a few more years.... if we allow this to continue we are only encouraging the decimation of OUR fish stocks.

Yep great for conservation if every country did it but they don't. Fish still being caught and just landed elsewhere. Our waters are a 12 mile zone around the coast and then its European. A compromise has been reached now regarding the weighing. They were weighing water in the tankers of fish and the uk vessel that lands herring every august from scotland said he would bever be back down. Allowing 3% for water. The scales now will give a truer weight, all good now but my point is its not really protecting stocks as much as we all would love to hope, it may just lead to landing elsewhere

True, They may land elsewhere, but if the fish are caught close to Ireland, The costs (diesal & wages + more hours on the boat) of landing them elsewhere would hopefully make it prohibitive. Hopefully other countries will follow Ireland lead on this one.. One TINY step in the right direction... I still Mackeral are bolloxed if boats keep landing them like they have been in the last few years but any step, no matter how tiny, we have to support.

Mackerel and scad being caught off the west coast are taken to holland by the dutch factory ships. Fresh fish unprocessed caught by scottish and norweigan boats are caught west of Ireland and taken to scotland because they get better prices and less hassle. Even irish vessels take their fish to scotland for the same reasons. But at the minute irish boats are catching north of the shetland and taking mackerel from there down to ireland because the factorys have orders to fill out. Thats the fishes problem, they dont recognise flags or borders. By the irish protecting the stocks doesnt make much differnce because it just means some other nation will catch them anyway. Only 4 species of fish that these cameras and scales affect and thats scad, mackerel herring and blue whiting. That's why I'd like to see cameras on the dutch offshore factorys and the same in the faroese and icelandic and norweigan plants. Hopedully it would be like the smoking ban and will catch on everywhere. These species of fish are not territorial. They migrate in accordance with water temperature and pass by many countries grabbing their bit but ireland has the smallest and by far the strictest quota for both whitefish and pelagic species even in our own area which we handed over to europe in the 70s.

Points worth pondering there. Where are you getting this info?

The main big European mackerel shoal gathers this time of year every year north of scotland up by Norway and as temperatures drop they move south. The bigger fish move to the front of the huge shoal as they are faster and stronger. Last year this shoal stretched from north Scotland down to Cork in southern ireland as it moved south. Its north of shetland at the moment and by February it will be passing west of Ireland heading south. Shetland catch or the peterhead or norweigan factorys won't be monitored as much as the Irish plants so its rural fishing communities here losing out is my point. Scad mainly don't move as much they gather in two main areas, West of Achill island in Mayo and around Tory island in Donegal. The Dutch factory ships spend months sitting towing on those shoals, no cameras or scales and those shoals are riddled with seed mackerel. Blue whiting go the opposite direction as they travel from well west of Cork from march up west of ireland to north Scotland through may and again its Norway with a quota of 386 thousand tonnes of blues and ireland with a quota of 22 thousand tonne for fish west of Ireland. We have the best waters but the eu have the pick of them. Whitefish are the same its all spanish and french and Portuguese fishing off here with their big quotas. Even bluefin tuna we are not allowed to catch and release with rods says europe. So migratory fish are not our fish but they belong to us all and it's our generation that must protect them as Europeans for future generations