THE head of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation has said he feels the message about the difficulties the fishing section face has finally been communicated to government.

Minister for Agriculture, Food & The Marine Martin Heydon met with locals in at their office on the pier in Castletownbere on Monday.

Speaking to The Southern Star, Patrick Murphy, who chaired the meeting, said it was really important that a senior government minister came down to listen to people from across the seafood sector and not just the fishers alone.

‘There was a full room of people and we invited people to speak and sit down with the minister and Sen Noel O’Donovan. We went around the table and explained where each of us was coming from and what solutions we had,’ said Patrick.

‘Minister Haydon agreed with a lot of what we said and said he will have to go back and check with the Department to ensure that there aren’t any valid reasons why things can’t be changed. The Berkery Report, which he commissioned two people to draw up has examined all issues relating to the fishing sector over the past nine months and we had an input in this. It’s a way at looking at systems differently.’

Patrick said that no one knows the solutions better than the fishermen themselves and that it is why it was so important to get this across to Minister Heydon and now the ‘ball is in their court now.

‘We are delighted that finally we have got our message across and that finally action is being taken and we want to acknowledge the people who have done that over the last two years including Minister Heydon, Junior Minister Timmy Dooley and Sen Noel O’Donovan.’

Fine Gael Senator Noel O’Donovan, who had invited Minister Heydon down to Castletownbere, said this meeting marked the first of its kind where different representatives of the fishing sector met together.

‘They discussed the many challenges in the sector, such as quotas, generation renewal, legislation and policy as well as invasive species and difficult working conditions,’ said Sen O’Donovan.

‘It is time that a co-ordinated and collaborative approach is taken to address the issues facing the sector and identify practical solutions. The timing of this meeting was significant due to the imminent publishing of the Berkery Report, which is a government-backed taskforce established to review the economic challenges facing small-scale, local family-run boats and inshore fishermen.’

Sen O’Donovan added that the fishing community have endured really difficult periods and he is committed to advocate for the sector with both Ministers Heydon and Dooley.