Outlining its decision, the commission said operators did not have a “weighing system fit for purpose”, that a 2018 audit had identified “manipulation of weighing systems” and that the state had not taken appropriate action to address this.

An administrative inquiry by Ireland’s Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) subsequently confirmed the audit findings.

The commission’s move brought to an end with immediate effect a derogation from an obligation to weigh fish catches at landing that Ireland had enjoyed until last week, and applies to pelagic fish such as mackerel, herring and blue whiting as well as demersal fish like whiting and haddock.