A disappointed Irish fishing industry has warned that Spanish vessels will begin "cleaning out" the Irish Box from January 1st.
They have also described as disastrous a new days-at-sea restriction on whitefish vessels fishing from Galway to Donegal and have questioned the scientific basis for the move.
While acknowledging that the Irish delegation did its best at the EU council, they are critical of the interpretation being put on the outcome by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern.
The issue of the 50-mile exclusion zone was not resolved at last week's five-day council, which was convened to deal with review of the Common Fisheries Policy and annual quotas.
Mr Ahern says he is continuing to defend the retention of the Irish Box and says he has appealed to his Spanish counterpart to act responsibly and to work towards an acceptable solution in the new year. He described the deal secured overall as having safeguarded the future for thousands of Irish fishermen.
However, Mr Lorcan Ó Cinneide, chief executive of the Irish Fish Producers' Organisation (IFPO), described this as "laughable", given Spain's record of continued breaches of existing fishery regulations off the Irish coastline.
The Box issue had demonstrated the hypocrisy of the European Commission's commitment to conservation, he said.
Also, the nine-days-a-month limit on vessels in the north-west, fishing from Galway to Donegal, made a mockery of the conservation issue, he said, as the restriction would not apply to vessels using smaller mesh sizes for prawns.
"The boats using larger mesh, which allows juveniles to fish, are the ones being penalised, and many of these vessels don't even fish for cod," he explained.
"Either this is a dreadfully cynical exercise by a Commission which amounts to a dictatorship, or the officials haven't the slightest understanding of how fishing works," he said.
The Irish fishing industry had voted in favour of the Nice Treaty, he said, but he predicted that there could be a different approachto any referendum on the new constitution for Europe. The ambiguity over the Irish Box, and the limitation in the north-west, could arouse further protest action among fishermen in the new year.
Mr Jason Whooley, chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers' Organisation (IS&WFPO), warned: "We are potentially dealing with an armada of Spanish vessels in the Irish Box from January 1st because of the Commission's failure to clarify the legal position." This would undoubtedly lead to increased tensions, Mr O Cinneide said.
Before the council opened, the IFPO, the IS&WFPO and the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO) had warned that up to 200 Spanish boats, denied access to traditional grounds off Morocco, were preparing to move into the Box area from January 1st.
This would be done with no regard for the highly sensitive biological area which is a spawning and breeding ground for fish.
"The Minister, despite fighting strongly against the odds, has effectively been steamrolled by the most cynical process of divide and conquer conducted by the EU Commission in its pursuit of flawed proposals," the organisations said in a joint statement at the weekend.
"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the Irish delegation and some successes, the overall net result can only be described as bitterly disappointing.
"The outcome of these talks reflects a lost opportunity to tackle the underlying structures of the failed Common Fisheries Policy which has left the Irish fishing industry totally underdeveloped for the last 20 years and does nothing to forward effective stock conservation and management in the EU."
The outcome of quota negotiations has also been criticised by the industry. Quotas for vital pelagic stocks include "major reverses", the organisations say, particularly for blue whiting. They also express unhappiness at reductions in whitefish quotas.
The KFO's chief executive, Mr Seán O'Donoghue, said the north-west had "ended up as the sacrificial lamb with the imposition of a disastrous and unjustified scheme for days-at-sea limits and the major losses on whitefish and pelagic stocks."
Mr O Cinneide added: "Whatever the so-called political realities, it is a disgrace that in a so-called reform package no improvement in Ireland's share of total allowable catches was considered, which places the industry in a resource strait-jacket for the coming years if not readdressed."
