Galway Bay fm newsroom - A Connemara fish factory is appealing to the Marine Minister to safeguard the future of the industry.
Large fishing companies in the northwest control most of Ireland's mackerel quota.
This leaves just 4 per cent of caught quota shared between four factories in Iasc Mara in Ros-a-Mhíl, and Dingle, Co Kerry, and Castletownbere and Baltimore in Co Cork.
The four factories, which employ more than 240 people, are appealing to Minister Michael Creed to initiate a pilot scheme which would allocate a percentage of mackerel quota - at 14 per cent initially - directly to the factories to ensure a coastal benefit.
It follows fears about the impact of BREXIT on the Irish fishing industry.
According to the Irish Times, Britain is a key market for Irish seafood, and 38 per cent of the Irish catch is taken from the waters around its coast.
