Paul Murphy: Calls for 30% Marine Protection and Worker Rights
Paul Murphy criticised the government's failure to act on the climate and biodiversity emergency and demanded urgent expansion of marine protected areas and stronger protections for fishers. He argued for a marine protected area agency, financial supports for small fishers, and action to end exploitation of non-EEA migrant workers in the fishing sector.
State of marine biodiversity
The speaker outlined the diversity of coastal and offshore life, citing over a thousand species of marine algae, 560 species of fish, 58 species of sharks, rays and chimera, 24 species of dolphin, 2 species of seals and 23 species of marine birds, and warned that the marine environment is severely degraded and in rapid decline.
Threats to the ocean and carbon storage
He highlighted climate-driven threats - warming seas, ocean acidification - alongside raw sewage runoff and overfishing by industrial fleets. He noted researchers found bottom trawling releases as much carbon globally as the entire aviation industry and emphasised that the ocean is the Earth’s biggest carbon sink.
Demand for marine protected areas and an agency
The speaker called for the expansion of marine protected areas without delay, insisting they must be networked and genuinely protected from industrial and harmful human activities, and proposed setting up a marine protected area agency to coordinate designation, management and enforcement.
Support for small fishers and just transition
He said protecting 30% of waters will affect coastal communities and small fishers, and demanded full financial supports and guaranteed decent incomes so costs do not fall on small fishers. He criticised missed targets - less than 2.5% currently protected and a failed 10% target for 2020 - and expressed scepticism the government will meet a 30% by 2030 goal unless protections and supports are real.
Exploitation of migrant workers and labour safeguards
He described horrific exploitation of non-EEA migrant fishers - long dangerous hours, poor health and safety, injuries and abandonment - and cited concerns around undocumented crewing given that 211 boats are eligible for the Atypical Working Scheme but only 227 live permits exist. He urged a census, proper transposition and enforcement of the EU working time directive in fisheries, and stronger protections for workers across the industry.
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In May 2019, the previous government of Fianna Gael, propped up by Fianna Fáil, declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. But so far, more than two years on, even with the Greens now in government, you have completely failed to follow up that declaration with adequate action. The science is very clear on this. We must deal with the climate and biodiversity crises together. And this is especially the case when it comes to our oceans. We have a diverse array of species that inhabit the coastal and offshore waters. There's over a thousand different species of marine algae. 560 species of fish. 58 species of sharks, rays and chimera. And actually, a shark nursery was just discovered a few years ago. 24 species of dolphin, 2 of seals and 23 species of marine birds. So much there, but it's all at risk. Overall, our marine environment is in bad health, severely degraded and in rapid decline. And it's no wonder, when you consider the threats from climate action and warmer ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, raw sewage runoff and overfishing by industrial fishing fleets. The ocean is also the Earth's biggest carbon sink. It holds the most carbon in the planet. But researchers recently discovered that bottom trawling, where a weighted net is dragged across the seabed, scraping the seafloor and scooping up everything in its vicinity, releases as much carbon globally as the entire aviation industry. For all those reasons, and many, many more, it's vital that, without any more delay, we begin expanding our marine protected areas. We need to set up a marine protected area agency, which is necessary to coordinate what areas are designated, how they are managed and how they are actually being protected. And there needs to be real engagement with coastal communities and small fishers, because carving out 30% of our water and protecting it will mean less fishing, which undoubtedly impacts on fishers and their families. But we have to work to ensure that small fishers have full financial supports during this process into the future and have no loss of income and, in fact, have a guaranteed quality, decent income. That's what a just transition that the government wasn't really interested in hearing about yesterday is all about. It's about saying that the costs of taking climate action should fall on the big industrial fishers, as opposed to the small fishers. But like with nearly every environmental target ever set by this state, we've already missed the target of protecting at least 10% of our waters by 2020. Now, the government is saying we'll go for 30% by 2030. But I find it hard to believe that it will actually happen when you consider that we currently have less than 2.5% being protected in any sense. I also want to underscore that these marine protected areas must actually be protected from industrial and harmful human activities, as pointed out by the Irish Wildlife Trust. What we need is an alliance of small fishers, environmental activists, and workers everywhere to demand that this sort of action actually happens. We need marine protected areas that are actually networked and protected, and we need full supports to all fishers and coastal communities that will be impacted by this. If we continue with business as usual, the megatrawlers will hoover up all the fish, the industrial fleets will continue destroying the seabeds, and we will all be left paying a very, very significant price. I also want to briefly reference the conditions faced by non-EEA migrants in the fishing sector. We have horrific exploitation taking place of workers based in this country. That is taking place. The kind of horror stories that you hear. Effective human trafficking of migrant workers into this country on boats, working extremely long hours, in extremely dangerous conditions, working overnight, day after day after day. No protection in terms of health and safety. Deb DeMurphy, we're halfway through. I don't know how you're sharing the time. I think that's okay. It's up to yours. Yeah, thanks. So I'll finish shortly. No protection in terms of health and safety. Suffering injury in many cases. And for many of these fishers, the way it comes to an end is they suffer a significant injury where they're no longer able to continue. And then that's them. They're off the boat. The owner of the boat doesn't care about them anymore. It's an absolute scandal, and it continues to happen in this country. The International Transport Workers Federation have done excellent work in terms of highlighting, campaigning, and campaigning on this issue. But now we need action by the government. We know, for example, there's 211 boats that are eligible for the Atypical Working Scheme, but only 227 live permits. So it begs the question very clearly, who is crewing these boats? And it suggests that there's very large amounts of undocumented workers. So we need a census to take place now. We need protection of workers across the industry. And we need proper transposition of the EU directive on working time within fisheries. And then observation of that to make sure that workers' rights in the sector are being protected. Thanks.
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