Ireland’s fishing industry warns of losses up to €200m over a 70% mackerel quota cut and other deep cuts for 2026. It is expected that the EU will make the quota cuts following new international advice recommending deep cuts to key pelagic and whitefish fish stocks for 2026.
The warning comes as fishing leaders held an emergency meeting with Marine Minister Timmy Dooley TD in Killybegs this morning to discuss the crisis.
Following the meeting, Aodh O’Donnell, Chief Executive of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO) said Minister Dooley acknowledged the scale of the threat to Ireland’s fishing and processing sectors. “The Minister pledged to bring the industry’s concerns directly to the Government and present a financial framework for addressing the crisis to them.
He said he would ‘deploy all political capacity’ to secure such a framework, and that he would seek to reassess key policies which affect the national fishing fleet. On an EU level, the Minister told the meeting he would be seeking a fresh approach. He said would ‘fight to the nth degree’ for the EU to apply the ‘Hague Preferences’. This mechanism allows the EU to adjust historic quotas for Ireland when the total allowable catch falls below a certain level.
The Minister was urged to seek stronger EU action against non-EU states that continue flagrant overfishing of shared stocks, which has created this crisis in fish stocks.
The meeting was attended by leaders and members of the IFPO, the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO), and the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association (IFPEA) the Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation (IS&EPA) and the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation (IS&WPO). The industry leaders described the initial discusses as “constructive,” and said the Minister promised to keep in touch with them weekly during the crisis
They stressed that Ireland must now press for sanctions and rebalanced quotas at EU level before the December Fisheries Council meeting.
The IFPO is also calling for emergency financial supports for the catching and processing sectors and a Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) impact assessment of the economic fallout from this crisis.
Background to the Mackerel Quota Cut
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended for a 70% reduction in mackerel, because stocks are now below safe biological limits. They also recommended a 41% cut in blue whiting, and a 22% cut in boarfish. It is expected that these recommendations will be followed by EU quota cuts accordingly for the coming year, 2026.
The IFPO says the cuts are a triple blow that could wipe out Ireland’s offshore fleet and devastate coastal economies. “Sustainability is vital — but the EU’s failure to stop reckless overfishing by Norway, Iceland and the Faroes has led directly to this collapse,” said O Donnell.
The IFPO is urging the Irish Government to push the EU to apply trade and access sanctions against non-EU states that continue to overfish and threaten shared fish stocks. “Market access for these rogue states should be conditional on compliance with sustainability rules.”
Quota Cuts Impact on Ireland
Mackerel is Ireland’s most valuable catch, worth €94 million in exports last year to premium European and Asian markets. It is estimated that the ICES advice would slash that by roughly €82 million in one year, while the combined losses to the wider economy — including processing, transport, and support industries — could exceed €200 million.
“We cannot overstate the urgency,” O’Donnell continued. “These cuts it will destroy our most valuable fisheries and cripple the towns that depend on them, unless the EU acts decisively. This must be a line in the sand.”
“If Brussels fails to stand up for fair, science-based management, Ireland’s pelagic industry could disappear within a year,” O’Donnell warned.