Do Your Bit and Email Your Local TD

Copy and paste the following email, sign it with your name and emial it to your local representative to have your say on this very important issue.

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Dear {TD NAME},


On Sunday 13th October, the large trawlers that have for the last 15 years been plundering common marine resources through pair trawling for sprat returned to the Kenmare Bay to continue their campaign of destruction. It is now 6 months since the public consultation on trawling within Ireland’s 6 nautical mile limit initiated by the Minister for Agriculture was closed. My understanding is that the response to the public consultation was significant with the vast majority of responses in favour of restrictions on the fishing activities of large vessels and particularly in favour of a complete ban on trawling by boats over 18m for sprat within the bays of the south west of Ireland. Since the closure of the Public Consultation the silence from the Minister of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and from all other political parties has been deafening. I would like to ask you:


1.      Why have the results of the public consultation have not yet been published?
2.      Why has action has not yet been taken to ban these large offshore vessels from fishing in inshore coastal area, and especially from Special Areas of Conservation such as the Kenmare Bay?

Until action is taken to immediately ban these boats from trawling within 6 nautical miles of the coast and within the baseline, as is the will of the overwhelming majority of the public, I will be withdrawing support from any political party and their TDs that tolerate the blatant plundering of our national marine resources by a select few individuals. This means that I shall not be providing my vote to any TD that has not acted to bring about protection to our inshore water from large trawlers and I shall be encouraging others to act similarly.


Best wishes,

{name}