Up to a fifth of Irish fishermen will be forced to resign unless changes are made to the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy which allows foreign vessels to catch up to 85% of the fish in Irish waters , warned the industry.

Existing quotas limit Irish vessels to just 15 percent of the catch, said Patrick Murphy, CEO of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organization, and this is no longer sustainable.

A documentary Exploiting Irish Fishermen – the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy will be screened on Wednesday for members of the Oireachtas at a hotel in Dublin city center.

The film was directed by Sean Moroney of Santander Media and highlights the issues facing the Irish fishing industry.

“Ireland has the richest fishing grounds in Europe, but other countries on the European continent, namely France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark and Poland come into our waters to reclaim our quota, our share of our natural resource. in their country, ”said Mr. Murphy.

“We do not have the same reciprocal access to fish in their waters and that is why we are in the situation we find ourselves in – one in five vessels will need to be decommissioned and one in five families will need to be decommissioned. tell them that there is no future for them in the industry.