They were speaking as Charlie McConalogue began a tour of ports around the country to meet with fishing communities at Howth in north county Dublin.
He said the fact that Irish fishers had lost €43 million out of total loss of €180 million across the EU meant there has been an "unfair burden" on the Irish fishing fleet and he believes the loss should have been shared more equally with other EU member states. Minister McConalgue said the agreement has had significant impact on the fishery sector adding that he is working hard with the industry to find solutions to the problem but he admitted it is a "very significant challenge".
In the shorter term the government will consider supports for the industry after a task force that has been looking at the issue delivers its final report.