Minister for the Marine Michael Creed has said he is not proposing any tie-up of the fishing fleet despite industry figures reporting that the coronavirus outbreak has had a devastating impact on the sector. Mr Creed held a teleconference with fishing industry figures on Friday, with representatives of the off-shore fleet, inshore fleet and processors participating. The Minister said it was evident that the challenges facing the industry were enormous. Ahead of Friday’s talks, John Nolan, general manager of Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-op, told The Irish Times that the Covid-19 outbreak was having an unprecedented impact and fish markets were closing down all over Europe. He said the Castletownbere co-op produces €65 million worth of fish annually, with some €60 million of this exported to continental Europe.

Source: The Irish Times March 20, 2020 19:50 UTC