| Porthole 28 Jan 22

CHINA’S claim of sovereignty over parts the South China Sea is nothing compared to something brewing off the coast of Ireland, where local fishing boats have revealed plans to disrupt a Russian military exercise.

The Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation has been in contact with the Russian Embassy in Dublin over the issue, claiming that “half a billion tonnes of blue whiting” are being put at risk by the war games involving three ships.

A spokesperson for the embassy told RTE that the controversy was “hugely overblown,” saying the exercise was “not in anyway a threat to Ireland or anybody else”.

“While we understand the concerns of fishermen about the integrity of marine resources, there are neither grounds nor scientific data to believe that these exercises would influence the biodiversity of the ocean”.

However the fishermen insist their livelihoods are being endangered by the move.

“Can you imagine if the Russians were applying to go onto the mainland of Ireland to go launching rockets, how far would they get with that,” said the group’s CEO, Patrick Murphy.

“It’s no different to fishermen, this is our ground this is our farm, this is where we earn our living,” he said, highlighting previous incidents of seismic activity which changed the migratory pattern of tuna.