Minister Dooley Opens Consultation on BSA Crab Fishing Effort

Minister of State Timmy Dooley TD has launched a public consultation on effort management for brown crab and spider crab fishing in the Biologically Sensitive Area (BSA), covering vessels over 10 metres. The Department has confirmed this will be the only opportunity for stakeholders to contribute before any decision is made.

Background to the review

The consultation follows a proposal submitted by the Irish South & West Fish Producers Organisation (ISWFPO) on 29 August 2025. ISWFPO asked the Department to introduce a vessel authorisation system, with individual monthly kilowatt (kW) day allocations for vessels over 10 metres fishing in the BSA. The organisation argued that Ireland’s remaining kW days would not be enough to keep the fishery open for the full year, pointing to the current shortage of mackerel, historically used to negotiate effort swaps with France.

How the current system works

Brown crab and spider crab are non-quota species, but fishing effort is capped under the Western Waters Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No.1415/2004). Effort is measured in kW days, calculated by multiplying the number of days fished by a vessel’s engine power. Ireland’s base allocation for the BSA is 63,198 kW days per year, monitored monthly by the Quota Management Advisory Committee (QMAC), which includes industry, Department and SFPA representatives.

Ireland has exceeded this base allocation every year since at least 2009, relying on swaps with France, the only other Member State holding this type of effort. France requires a quantity of mackerel quota in exchange for any swap. Since 2009, Ireland has swapped in an average of 37,405 kW days a year, with swapped-in effort ranging from a low of 3,986 kW days in 2024 to a high of 66,000 kW days in 2018.

2025 closure and reopening

The fishery was closed to vessels over 10 metres on 11 November 2025 after SFPA figures showed Ireland’s BSA effort had been exceeded. A swap of 12,000 kW days with France allowed the Minister to reopen the fishery on 15 November 2025, bringing the adjusted 2025 allocation to 75,198 kW days. Final uptake for the year came to 74,744.52 kW days, or 99.4% of the adjusted total.

Activity in the fishery

SFPA figures show 35 vessels made 634 trips in the fishery in 2025, broadly in line with recent years, which have ranged between 29 and 37 active vessels annually since 2019. Of the vessels active in 2025, 25 were in the 10m to 12m category and 12 were between 12m and 18m, up from 33 total active vessels in 2024.

Uptake is strongly seasonal. Looking at average monthly figures from 2019 to 2025, effort use builds steadily from a low in February (709 kW days) to a peak in October (13,728 kW days), with September and August the next busiest months, before tapering off sharply in November and December.

Brown Crab Working Group findings

A Brown Crab Working Group, chaired by BIM with input from the Department, Marine Institute and SFPA, reviewed the fishery in 2024. It stopped short of recommending changes to how kW days are managed, on the basis that this measure is poorly suited to static gear fisheries like crab potting, where catching power isn’t linked to engine power in the way it is for trawlers. Industry representatives on the group felt there was little value in relying more heavily on effort limits unless the underlying EU regulation was revised, which was outside the group’s remit.

Three options on the table

The consultation paper sets out three possible approaches:

Option 1: No change. Effort would continue to be monitored and managed as at present, with swaps used to keep the fishery open when needed. This avoids new red tape but leaves Ireland exposed to running out of effort or having to close the fishery if a swap can’t be secured.

Option 2: Vessel authorisation and individual allocations, broadly as proposed by ISWFPO. Each vessel would receive its own kW day allocation, reviewed monthly by QMAC. The Department flags several concerns, including extra administrative burden, the risk of vessels booking in without intending to fish (crowding out genuine operators), and the difficulty of tracking real-time uptake for smaller inshore vessels still using manual log sheets rather than electronic ones.

Option 3: Monthly restrictions or closure periods set by Fishery Management Notice, based on QMAC’s uptake analysis, without a formal booking-in or authorisation system. This would allow closer management and could help preserve effort for peak months, but wouldn’t guarantee individual vessels a fixed share of the available days.

All three options carry a shared risk noted by the Department: tighter management of the BSA crab fishery could push effort onto other stocks of conservation concern.

Have your say

The Minister has stressed that no decision has been made to change current arrangements, and none will be made until the consultation process is complete and all submissions have been considered. Licence holders are advised not to make any plans on the assumption that the current system will change.

Submissions can be emailed to FisheriesConsultation@agriculture.gov.ie, or posted to the Sea Fisheries Policy and Management Division, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, National Seafood Centre, Clogheen, Clonakilty, Co Cork, P85 TX47. Those submitting by email should receive a confirmation receipt within five working days; anyone who doesn’t should contact the Department directly.

The consultation opened on 3 July 2026 and closes at 5pm on 5 August 2026.