Irish fishing boats want to disrupt a Russian military exercise in the Atlantic.
The area for the planned military exercise is part of Ireland's so-called exclusive economic zone (200-mile zone) and is considered to be rich in fishing grounds.
As the fishing association announced, up to 60 boats could fish in the area, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported on Tuesday evening.
"Our protest is our presence," federation leader Patrick Murphy said in an RTÉ interview, adding: "The sea is our working environment, we should be safe there, we shouldn't be dealing with this kind of interference in our livelihood without a say." .” Fishermen fear fish stocks could be disrupted by the five-day military exercise. The Irish government had already expressed its dissatisfaction with the planned exercise. Secretary of State Simon Coveney described them as "not welcome".
The Russian embassy in Dublin warned, according to RTÉ, that "any attempt to interfere with the military exercise would be an unscrupulous and irresponsible act that could endanger both ship crews and fishermen".
It is understandable that fishermen are concerned about the fishing grounds, but there are no triggers or scientific data to suggest that the practice is damaging ocean biodiversity.
At a press conference, Russia's Ambassador Yuri Filatov had previously described the controversy as "enormously inflated".
The maneuver was "in no way a threat to Ireland or anyone else," he reportedly said.
It is only a small exercise involving three to four ships.
He couldn't say if there was any shooting.