EU fishing quotas cause concern among coastal communities

Updated / Friday, 26 Dec 2025 11:14 Fishing and seafood organisations say 2,300 jobs are at risk, based on the quota Shane Ó Curraighín By Shane Ó Curraighín North West Correspondent The EU fishing quota agreement in Brussels before Christmas brought little festive cheer to coastal communities. The impact of scientific advice and resulting reductions in quota, combined with the blocking of the Hague Preferences, resulted in the loss of one third of Ireland's fish quota next year. The cuts represent a direct loss of €100-€105m, based on the estimated value of the 2025 quota. Fishing and seafood organisations say that 2,300 jobs are at risk. A stark situation was compounded by four member states - France, Netherlands, Germany and Poland - who blocked a long-standing protection mechanism for Ireland. The Hague Preferences were introduced in 1976 to counter the impact of access to Irish waters provided to vessels of other EU nations and to account for Ireland’s underdeveloped fleet. Often the subject of late-night negotiations, the Hague Preferences granted Ireland a larger share of certain stocks when total allowable catches fall below a specific level. Minister of State with Responsibility for Fisheries Timmy Dooley, who sought to invoke the Hague Preferences, described it as an "act of betrayal" led by those that benefited most from access to Irish waters. Mr Dooley told European counterparts that what transpired was comparable to an act of betrayal of the fundamental terms and conditions of an insurance policy, paid for in fish by Ireland for more than 40 years. Minister of State Timmy Dooley described the blocking of the Hague Preferences as an 'act of betrayal' The day after the negotiations, Chairperson of the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation Ciarán Doherty described the outcome as "an absolute disaster for the Irish fishing industry". "We will have about 14-20 days at sea next year. Meanwhile, we will be looking at other EU member states fishing in our waters all year round," Mr Doherty said. Member states set catch limits for commercial fish stocks in the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea during the December Fisheries Council meeting. Total allowable catch limits, known as TACs, are based on independent scientific advice. These cover stocks in EU waters and stocks fished by EU vessels in certain non-EU waters. They are divided into national quotas using historical fishing activity. The EU negotiates fishing quotas or catch limits with non-member coastal states such as the UK, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands for shared stocks in the north-east Atlantic. Tensions have arisen as coastal states recently excluded the EU to set catch limits well in excess of the recommended scientific advice. Mr Dooley said that some of the fish stocks important from an Irish perspective were at a very low level and the scientific advice was to reduce the allowable catch for fishermen across Europe. Fears of major cuts since October The International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), which provides scientific advice on sustainable management of shared...

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