An Cosantóir

36 | Eric Timon Lieutenant Commander Fisheries Monitoring Centre, Naval Operations Command "The Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) is situated within the Naval Base in Haulbowline, where historically it has been staffed and managed by the Naval Service. In a nutshell, the FMC, which Ireland is required to maintain under both European and national legislation, monitors the activities of all fishing vessels operating in Irish waters (which cover an area 12 times the size of Ireland) and Irish fishing vessels wherever they may be in the world. It is my responsibility to ensure that fishing vessels comply with all quota and technical regulations that ensure that the catch of fish taken from our seas remains at a sustainable level for current and future generations to exploit. In order to do this, my staff and I liaise with the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) on a daily basis. In addition, we are in constant contact with FMCs throughout the Europe Union and other, non-EU, states who have vessels operating in our waters. I also advise Naval Command on all aspects of fishery protection and national and EU policy." "Fish are migratory and therefore fishing patterns change on a frequent basis, resulting in a wide distribution of fishing fleets. I meet on a regular basis with the SFPA to establish what their priorities are for the forthcoming period. I then, with Naval Operations, establish which ships are available for fishery protection. With this information we plan the ships' patrol areas for the coming weeks. Before each ship goes out on patrol we provide a tailored brief to the ship's OC and boarding teams on what they can expect and should be looking for, or if there are any changes in legislation or quota information. Generally our ships will focus their inspections on vessels that are unlikely to land their catches into an Irish port where they would be subject to controls exercised by the SFPA. I also prepare weekly fishery patrols for the Air Corps' CASA maritime patrol aircraft. "The FMC is divided into four sections: Operations, Data Management, Training and Legislation. Ops section routinely conducts risk analysis assessments of fishing fleets using diverse monitoring systems, both passive and active, and 'int' from a An Cosantóir Feb 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie variety of sources. This is collated and passed out to ships at sea for action. Data Management collates the results of all inspections and conducts statistical analysis on this data, which then becomes a constituent of reports forwarded to the Department of Defence, the SFPA and the European Commission. The training cell ensures all Naval Service inspection personnel are trained to the requirements of the 2006 Maritime Jurisdiction Act. Legislation Section ensures all legislative and quota information is kept current. It also prepares inspection teams for giving evidence in court cases at home and abroad. "It is my job, taking into account national policy, to give direction to all these entities, and to ensure that they all work together to enable the FMC to operate as a cohesive entity. "In addition, I often represent the Naval Service at relevant international meetings abroad that may be hosted by the EU Commission, the European Fisheries Control Agency or various regional or international fisheries commissions. It is important that the Naval Service is represented at these meetings to ensure that our commitment of resources to various fishery protection campaigns is realistic, achievable and sustainable, and to ensure that the considerable expertise that we have in this area is brought to an international forum."

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