EU Court Raps Ireland for Faulty Fisheries Data
Date: 09-Dec-05
Country: BELGIUM
Ireland, which did not contest the case brought by the European Commission, had failed to submit the data for 1999 and 2000 on time. Dublin argued that its fisheries authority was poorly staffed at the time and needed to update its technology.
While Ireland has improved in both areas and escaped a hefty fine at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Commission officials hinted the court case was effectively a first warning to Dublin to get its house in order.
"In line with normal procedure, there is no financial penalty at this point. But if this failure continues, then the Commission will have to take Ireland to the ECJ again, and next time we will be seeking a financial penalty," a Commission official told Reuters.
"This is an important case, because without the information on catches ... which Ireland has failed to provide, it is impossible to manage the Common Fisheries Policy properly."
EU countries must inspect fishing vessels and check on catches, sales and shipment of fish caught in their waters.
They must also make sure that fishermen use the correct size of nets and do not spend more days at sea than permitted for particular species - part of the EU's effort to boost depleted stocks. All this information must be sent regularly to Brussels.
For the EU, Ireland has a relatively small fishing fleet compared with countries like Spain, Italy and Greece, although in terms of socio-economic importance, many coastal communities still depend on fishing for their livelihood.
But Dublin is not alone in failing to comply with EU fisheries laws. By 2003, none of the 13 EU countries affected by the same reporting obligation had fully met the provisions.
Several countries have had similar warnings and the ECJ fined France 20 million euros ($23.55 million) in July.
