The Killybegs Fishermen's association has said it is not going to lie down and accept the deal on access to UK waters reached as part of the Brexit trade deal agreed yesterday.
Earlier, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney said under the deal, about a quarter of the fish Ireland catches in British waters would go back to the UK, compared to the 80% that had been sought.
The Irish fishing industry currently catches 60 per cent of its mackerel in particular, in UK waters. But Sean O'Donoghoe, chief executive of the fishermen's organisation, said they would now only get a 13 per cent share.
“It is totally unfair for mackerel that are spawned off the west coast of Ireland, 80 per cent of them. We’re now ending up with only a share of 13% and the UK has a share of 71%. This is totally unacceptable, and we’re not going to lie down and accept it,” he said.
His concerns were echoed in France, where the mayor of a major fishing town, Boulogne-sur-Mer said the agreement left much obscured. "Relief for our fishermen, but what will be the impact on stocks? Who, for example, will be handling the controls? And over what time?" Mayor Frederic Cuvillier told Europe 1 radio.
"The only certainty today is that we need to find, during the transition period, more deals within the deal."
Cuvillier's views were echoed by French politicians Chesnais-Girard and Herve Morin, whose responsibilities cover the Normandy region. Chesnais-Girard and Morin issued a joint statement welcoming the fact that a Brexit "no-deal" had been averted, but also calling for a meeting with French Prime Minister Jean Castex to analyse more of the details.
French fishermen had lobbied President Emmanuel Macron not to give an inch over fishing rights, but his government dropped initial demands to maintain the status quo. French Seas Minister Annick Girardin issued a statement to say the government would set up financial measures to help French fishermen affected by the Brexit trade accord.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach, Michéal Martin, says the Brexit trade deal will protect the 'bread and butter' of Irish businesses who export to the UK.
Four years of negotiations and months of intense talks came to a close yesterday with the agreement. Both sides will now have to formally approve it, with the UK Labour Party committing not to block it when it reaches parliament there.
