An investigation by the EU, shared with Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine late last year, concluded that fishery controls were “unsatisfactory”.   As a result, the country faces losing tens of thousands of tonnes from its fishing quota and around €40m in funding annually.

The investigation reported that, during a four-year period, 33 cases of suspected fraud in relation to fishing quotas were sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions but the DPP either determined there was insufficient evidence or too much delay in bringing the cases and none were sent forward for prosecution.  The EU now wants to examine each of these cases to determine why.

The disclosure is the second allegation of malpractice in under-reporting the size of catches in recent years. Five years ago, some of the biggest fishing operators in the Irish State were found to have falsely reported the size of catches.  Click here