An Cosantóir

31 FMC Prior to BREXIT on 31st Dec 2020, Ireland's FMC increased its staff from nineteen to thirty-one and will shortly move towards a staff of forty-two. The staff of thirty-one (presently) is made up of a blended approach of Naval personnel, 1 Bde augmentees and civilian staff. The increase in staff arose due to the recognition of the volumetric explosion of administration, as a result of BREXIT. Interviews with the staff Who is the Regulation and Legislation Officer in FMC Ireland? Lt Fitzgerald recommissioned in November 2020 after completing a number of years out of the Naval Service, as a SAR Mission Co-Ordinator in the Irish Coast Guard in Valentia MRSC. Prior to departing the Naval Service in November 2014, having already completed a shore rotation as a 2IC FMC, adapting into a role in Fisheries is second nature. Daily roles as Regulations and Legislation Officer include keeping ships on patrol updated with the latest fishery legislation: including EU Regulations, Statutory Instruments and Fishery Management Notices. Plus briefing ships' Fishery Officers on the latest Regulations and Legislation, prior to going on Fishery protection operations. Do you enjoy working in the FMC environment? The Fishery Monitoring Centre is a very challenging but rewarding role and no one day is the same! In Haulbowline and the team we currently have here in FMC are from all diversities of the workplace spectrum and include Army and Civilian personnel, who are all key actors in ensuring that FMC Ireland maintains a 24/7 operational capacity. Although some risk assessed Fishery inspections may end in detaining a Fishing Vessel, Lt Fitzgerald believes having a Naval Service presence at sea - and risk assessing each fishery inspection - assists in deterrence of serious fishery infringements of EU and Third Country Fishing Vessel whilst operating in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone. This ensures that the Irish Naval Service maintains impartial moderation whilst conducting fishery inspections at sea. What would you see as a key attribute in FMC staff? Lt Fitzgerald believes that communication is a key attribute, whilst operating with the External Agencies such as European Fisheries Community Agency, Sea Fisheries Protection Agency. Ensuring an open line of communication to all Fishermen is paramount in the role and responsibilities required in the Fishery Monitoring Centre Ireland based on Haulbowline. Internal communications are as important to ensure all Naval Ships conducting Fishery Inspections have been briefed on current Fishery legislation prior to commencing patrol by all FMC Officers. What challenges do you see in the FMC going forward? There are plenty of challenges ahead in fishery legislation; including penalty points (which came into force at the end of January this year by EU legislation) and the Naval Service as required by the SFPA will ensure documentation requested by the SFPA Points Determination Panel is supplied, if serious infringements are detected during a fishery inspection at sea. Would you recommend a career in the FMC? In my own opinion yes, I would recommend all positions in FMC Ireland as a career. I have always found it to be an interesting job in which all personnel in the Monitoring Centre need to work together as a team to ensure successful outcomes of deterrence of serious fishery infringements at sea. I portray FMC Ireland as a positive, challenging and a rewarding place to work. In saying that, I have been in shore rotations for the past 5 years and I am looking forward to being posted into a sea rotation on one of the P60 Class Patrol Vessel in the not too distant future. New initiatives and future projects. IE INSPECT In collaboration with the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM), FMC has been conducting trials of a new web- based electronic inspection platform called IE INSPECT. This platform will allow boarding officers at sea to complete electronic inspections onboard fishing vessels. The move to IE INSPECT will reduce the manual inspection process and result in a faster inspection execution, whilst also improving the efficiency of the data management process for all ships' boarding Officers and the FMC. IE INPSECT will also bolster the security of sensitive data collected during the inspection process IFIS over CISN IFIS was accessed through two (2) DAFM computers on the DAFM network onsite in the FMC. As there were only two (2) pcs with access, this really limited the work output with availability of workstations. However, this limitation has been overcome by OIC CIS who created a VPN from the CISN to the DAFM Network. The link to the DAFM IFIS application is on the FMC IKON page in the publishing page and all FMC staff have been enabled with VDI user profiles (higher level service delivery on remote access solution). This initiative has had a positive impact on the work output of the MFC - allowing more risk analysis to be carried out on ERS logbooks. v A boarding team depart the fishing trawler UDRA after an inspection in July 2020

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