Ban on netting for Crawfish in Galway and Kerry
Dublin, Friday, 3 May 2002
Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr. Frank Fahey, has announced a closed season for shrimp fishing and a ban on the taking of crawfish by means of fishing net in two specified areas of the Galway and Kerry coasts, following the introduction of new regulations.
The Shrimp Fishing Conservation Order 2002 introduces a closed season for the fishery from May 7th to August 17th and has been introduced by the Minister in response to demands by the inshore sector for increased conservation measures. It is intended to renew the Order in 2003 to allow for a closure from mid-March to mid-August. The effect of the closed season will be to allow spawning and to ensure a larger species when the fishery reopens in August.
The introduction of the Crawfish Conservation Order 2002 is in response to the concerns of local fishermen who are worried about the serious depletion of stocks caused by the use of tangle nets. The Order introduces a ban on the fishing of crawfish by means of fishing net from 7th May next off the coast of Kerry and Galway.
Minister Fahey said, “My ongoing key priority is the sustainable development of our inshore fisheries. This Government is investing €2.6 million per year in the sector compared to €127,000 in 1997. A key factor of my strategy for the sector is to empower inshore fishermen and their communities right around the coast to develop and protect their own resource and to take charge of their own future, by inputting into the decision making process. I have introduced these Orders in response to concerns expressed by fishermen right around the coast on these important conservation matters.”
ENDS.
For further information, please contact:
Tony Bass
Media & Communications Manager
Department of the Marine and Natural Resources
Leeson Lane
Dublin 2
Tel: +353-(0)1-619-9471
Fax: +353-(0)1-676-6161
Or
Tom Mc Loughlin
Press Officer
Department of the Marine and Natural Resources
Leeson Lane
Dublin 2
Tel: +353-(0)1-619-9662
Fax: +353-(0)1-676-6161