Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, along with Minister of State for Fisheries and the Marine, Timmy Dooley TD, have jointly launched the Food Vision Seafood Sector Group. This initiative aims to address the pressing challenges facing Ireland’s seafood sector, which plays a crucial role in sustaining the economic and social well-being of rural coastal communities while supporting environmental sustainability.
The Group has been formed in response to significantly reduced fishing opportunities for the Irish fleet in 2026 and operates under the Food Vision 2030 strategy. It will assess issues affecting all three pillars of the seafood sector: catch fisheries, aquaculture, and seafood processing. The Group is tasked with developing a framework of measures to help the sector navigate these challenges effectively.
Minister Heydon highlighted that Food Vision 2030 positions Ireland’s agri-food sector as a global leader in sustainable food systems and emphasized the central role of fishermen, aquaculture producers, and processors in achieving this goal. Minister Dooley stressed the need to respond to the disappointing outcomes of the previous AgriFish Council, affirming his commitment to harnessing the expertise of all stakeholders to support the sector through a challenging period.
Michael Berkery, former General Secretary of the Irish Farmer’s Association, has been appointed as the independent Chairperson of the Group and will draft a Chairman’s Report by June 2026. The Group includes representatives from key seafood organisations, fisheries forums, aquaculture bodies, co-operatives, processors, exporters, and relevant government departments and state agencies.
The 2026 fishing opportunities are based on the “Council Regulation fixing for 2026 the fishing opportunities in the Atlantic and the North Sea,” also known as the TAC & Quota Regulation. Scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended significant reductions in total allowable catch (TAC) for critical stocks, including a 70% reduction in mackerel, a 41% reduction in blue whiting, and a 22% reduction in boarfish. These reductions, largely due to overfishing by third countries such as the UK and Norway, are expected to have a major impact on Ireland’s seafood industry.
The Food Vision Seafood Sector Group will develop a structured framework of supports and actions for the catch fisheries, aquaculture, and seafood processing sectors to address these challenges in alignment with its Terms of Reference.
