The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue has announced the launch of a Brexit Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme.
The scheme will help mitigate the impacts of quota cuts on the fishing fleet arising from the Trade and Cooperation Agreement agreed in December between the European Union and the UK.
Arising from the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the UK, Ireland is set to lose 26,412 tonnes of quota per year on a phased basis up to 2026, valued at around €43 million.
The quota cuts affect many of the most valuable fish stocks and have significant impacts for incomes in Ireland’s fishing fleet in 2021.
Minister McConalogue said the scheme he is launching today will invite certain vessels to tie-up for a one-month period during October to December 2021 and cease all fishing activity for that month.
In return, the vessel owner would receive a payment compensating for the lost fishing income.
The vessel owners will in turn be required to distribute one third of that payment to crew.
The payments range from €4,600 to €88,700, depending on the size of vessels.
