THE first meeting in what promises to be a lengthy campaign to ‘save our sprat,’ and protect the biodiversity of Bantry Bay, was attended by about 250 people on Sunday, and among them were fishermen who refuted many of the claims being made.
A panel of speakers, led by chairperson Kate Bennett, outlined the Save our Sprat’ organisation’s concerns, and claimed that a lack of a quota for sprat is leading to it being hoovered up in such numbers that there is little or nothing for other species to feed on, and that this is what is robbing Bantry Bay of its marine diversity.
One of the speakers Dolf D’Hondt said: ‘We are not trying to stop anyone making a living,’ but he suggested that despite the lack of a proper sprat stock survey, there is real, as well as anecdotal, evidence that there are now significantly fewer whales, dolphins and birds in the bay.
Videos were shown of the method of catching the sprat and the event organisers say that this pair trawling, and the use of an 16mm mesh*, takes everything in its path, including a varied by-catch. According to one speaker from Kenmare: ‘Nothing escapes out of that net, only water.’
The organisers said they want to protect the next generation of fishermen and they said sprat – ‘the little fish’ – is of huge significance to every aspect of the fishing industry.
It was stated that the 17,000 tonnes* of sprat being taken out of Irish waters are shipped to Killybegs, where it is turned into pellets to feed farmed salmon, and that less than 2% is for human consumption.
The group has organised a petition on change.org and they called on those in attendance to sign it, to make representations to their public representatives, to make other people aware of the issue, and donate what they can to the campaign.
The upcoming spawning season, when sprat amass, begins in September but the organisers are calling for a total moratorium on the fishing for sprat, claiming it is decimating the stocks.
Speakers from Kenmare, who were winners of a UNESCO Environment prize for its study of the huge drop-off in species in their bay, warned that the same thing could happen in Bantry Bay.
There were many speakers, including Darren O’Sullivan, the skipper of Bantry Bay Charters, who say the bay has been robbed of its diversity, while anglers said they no longer go out because there is nothing to be caught.
It is for this reason, and the failure of the courts to uphold legislation in 2020, that the group not only wants a moratorium but a ‘zero grace period’ so this type of fishing in the bay wouldn’t be allowed to drag on.
But established fishermen, industry representatives, and the editor of The Skipper, challenged many of the claims being made.
According to Niall Duffy, editor, the absence of a proper survey of the species isn’t available to validate the claims being made.
He also suggested that temperature increases have also led to sprat relocation, and the subsequent relocation of the whales which feed on them and he added: ‘You can’t make fishermen the bogeyman.’
Fisherman Anthony Sheehy said there was ‘a lot of misinformation’ at the meeting, and he complained that his crew were being hammered on social media, as well as being threatened.
He said the big boats are being blamed but it is the 18m vessels that are mostly engaged in the fishing of sprat, and he suggested that fishermen should get quotas.
He claimed that the debate is lacking balance and that something should be done to compensate fishermen for the loss of fishing in the bay.
Meanwhile, Patrick Murphy of the Irish South and West Fishermen’s Organisation also complained of disinformation. He said: ‘All fish that is landed has to be fully accounted for’, that the industry is monitored, and that the fishermen are complying with the current regulations.
Crew member Michael Harrington also said the by-catch claims being made are untrue. ‘The notion that we are hoovering out the bay is ridiculous,’ he added.
Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) said data urgently needs to be collected in relation to sprat stocks.
‘The government, the vast majority of the public, and indeed the majority of fishers, have long been in favour of banning trawling, the method of catching sprat, inshore, by large boats. This is not new,’ she added.
‘What is new is the growing fears and indications that sprat stocks, a vital species for fishers, fish and other marine animals, are declining to a level which would be unsustainable and unrecoverable.’
Save our Sprat have organised a public protest march from Wolfe Tone Square in Bantry to The Abbey at 11am on Friday May 30th.
*Editor's note: In the printed edition it suggested that 17,000 tonnes was taken from Bantry Bay, but it is a nationwide figure; and the event organisers confirmed that 16mm is minimum sized net that can be used legally. The organisers told The Southern Star that their used of '8mm' netting at the meeting referred to 'an 8x8 hole in the net.'
