Debate contribution: Fishing Industry: Ardglass

Debate contribution by Ms Diane Forsythe on 26 November 2024.

MLA

Ms Diane Forsythe

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

26 November 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Fishing Industry: Ardglass

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4677681

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Member for bringing the topic of fishing to the Assembly. As a fellow South Down MLA, I can say that fishing is a critical industry for our constituency. Northern Ireland's fishing fleet is predominantly based in the three harbours that are managed and maintained by the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority (NIFHA): Kilkeel and Ardglass in South Down and Portavogie in neighbouring Strangford, which is the constituency represented by my colleagues Michelle McIlveen and Harry Harvey, who are in the Chamber this afternoon. Three quarters of seafood and associated businesses are found in those three harbours. Those harbours are the heartbeat of our coastal communities. It is crucial that we support those who work and live in those areas to become more prosperous, improving the marine environment and building on their reputation as suppliers of high-quality fish produce. The most pressing challenge that faces our fishing industry is with workforce. The industry is struggling to attract local workers, and those who come from overseas to work in the fishing industry have had serious restrictions imposed on their visas. That has been a huge struggle for the industry to overcome, as skilled people who want to work in our fishing industry face serious barriers. The cost of the visas has risen significantly — by tens of thousands of pounds — and looks set to rise further next year. Those costs are disproportionate and unaffordable for the fishing industry. As we know, fishing and immigration issues are governed by our UK Government at Westminster. Unfortunately for us in South Down, we have an MP who does not take his seat at Westminster. I am, however, extremely proud of our DUP MP team, which includes our MP from neighbouring Strangford, Jim Shannon, for standing up at the heart of government for many years and fighting for the fishing industry in Northern Ireland, standing side by side with all of us in the Assembly as it does that. Our representatives will continue to do that. What will the AERA Minister do to represent the Northern Ireland fishing industry on those issues? Is he speaking to the heart of our UK Government on its behalf? As Cathy Mason outlined, seasonal worker visas are being granted for different aspects of farming across the country. I ask the Minister this: why can that not be applied to fishing, too? Can he advise us today of his position on that? Our fishing industry needs its workforce. I put on record that, contrary to some commentary, the Anglo Ireland Fish Producers Organisation (ANIFPO) and NIFPO have taken the lead on proving that crew welfare is a high priority. Such is the seriousness that they place upon the issue, they engaged Human Rights at Sea International (HRASI) to review crew welfare conditions in the fleet. In recent years, concern has been building that the state of the facilities in our harbour estates constrains capacity and leaves Northern Ireland lagging behind other regions when it comes to harnessing new and exciting economic opportunities for the industry. Challenges include the water depth and length of quays preventing access and preventing new vessels from landing; a lack of ownership of several properties in the harbour estate; overcrowding due to limited port capacity; and weather and tidal patterns restricting access. Although Kilkeel has some of the greatest operational constraints, barriers to growth and innovation exist across the board and are compounded by a comparatively old fishing fleet. Despite clear challenges, the local fishing industry has been incredibly resilient and should be commended. Previous estimates have shown that fishing vessels and seafood processing create an annual turnover of some £135 million and support over 1,500 jobs. There is, however, huge development potential to grow and expand the sector, to make fishing operations more efficient and to make our harbours more accessible and conducive to exploiting new opportunities such as those that flow from green growth and the blue economy.

The fishing and seafood development programme, first commissioned in 2019, provided a clear direction for new and significant public investment in the harbour infrastructure, including landmark plans to allocate £73 million for a new harbour or Irish Sea marine hub at Kilkeel; £20 million to deepen the approach channel at Ardglass; and £5 million to develop the existing harbour and abandoned buildings at Portavogie. Those costs would be significantly greater now, but the issues are clear. I pass by Kilkeel harbour every day and see the collapsing bridge over the river and the slipway. The lack of investment in recent years is apparent. It is really shows and it is affecting our fishing industry. We are all well aware of the budgetary pressures, but I ask the Minister to, please, outline his plans for investment in the fishing industry. The DUP wants Northern Ireland's fishing industry to be prosperous and sustainable. We have fought hard on many issues and delivered for our fishing industry, and we will continue to work hard for it. We want to see resolution of visa issues for fishing crews, and call on the Minister to support that. We ask him to examine opportunities to provide practical and financial support for fishermen impacted on by rising input costs; to provide funding to redevelop the harbour infrastructure across Kilkeel, Ardglass and Portavogie; and to invest in modern fishing vessels and gear to reduce costs and maximise fishing effort at sea. We want to see food security, not just for food production and the local fishing industry but for the coastal communities that depend on it.

930 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 01:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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