Direct gross value added of the Irish fishing sector decreased by 23% over the last number of years.

Omissions

• The claim does not specify the exact time period ('over the last number of years'); the sources do not state the precise start and end years covered by the 23% and 15% figures.
• The figures were found only in two fishing trade news articles (fishingnews.co.uk and thefishingdaily.com), which appear to cover the same underlying study of Irish fishing ports, so they may not be fully independent corroboration.
• No primary source (BIM Annual Fisheries Report, Eurostat, or STECF Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet) could be accessed to confirm the exact figures directly; the BIM 2023 Annual Fisheries Report describes a different, single-year change (GVA -15% in 2023 vs 2022, revenue -3%), not the multi-year 23% decline cited by the MEP.
• Search results were limited (search limit reached), so publication dates and the full text of the two corroborating articles could not be retrieved.

Sources

• SecondaryFishing News (fishingnews.co.uk) - Irish fishing ports: resilience in the face of changeDirect gross value added (GVA) from fishing has seen a 23% decrease, accompanied by a 15% reduction in employment within the sector.
• SecondaryThe Fishing Daily - New Reports Highlight Vital Role of Ireland's Main Fishing PortsOverall, the seafood sector at the ports is estimated to have sustained 8,760 jobs, €288.1 million in gross wages and €736.1 million in GVA (context on the same Irish fishing-port study).