The European Association of Fish Producers Organisations (EAPO) will hold its Annual General Meeting in Killybegs, Co. Donegal from 10–12 September 2025.
Hosted by the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) and the Irish Fish Producers Organisation (IFPO), the event will bring together delegates from 17 Producer Organisations across 9 EU Member States, along with representatives from the European Commission.
Discussions over the three days will centre on:
- The ongoing evaluation of the CFP,
- The impact of new EU fisheries control regulations,
- Quota negotiations for 2026,
- The future direction of Europe’s seafood sector.
- The EAPO will also vote in a new Committee, including the election of a new chair.
Those attending include:
- Padraig MacLochlainn TD, Sinn Féin
- Senator Manus Boyle, Fine Gael
- Caroline Bocquel, outgoing BIM Chief Executive
- Members of the EU Fisheries Commission
The Key Discussions will center around the impact of new EU control regulations. Industry leaders warn these will add red tape and costs. In Ireland in particular, current control measures, including inspections, weighing and sampling are already discouraging Irish and foreign vessels from landing into Irish ports. New proposals will potentially make the situation worse as the new sampling and weighing rules proposed are more onerous and time consuming. The Irish fishing industry has long called for a simpler not more complex system as they are already feeling the negative impact of unworkable controls here
SFPA figures show Irish vessels made over 95% of landings into Irish ports in 2024, with only 2,053 by foreign vessels. The Irish fish processing sector says this represents a drop of 58% in foreign quota landings into Ireland
The IFPEA reports almost 39,000 tonnes of Irish quota were landed abroad in 2024, highlighting that the current rules are acting as a strong disincentive to land in Ireland.
