Sinn Fein is calling for "continuous and rigorous" tests to be carried out on super trawlers and said the environmental damage they cause is immense.

MEP Liadh Ní Riada urged the Navy and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) to "aggressively monitor" the ships after another one was found in Irish Waters.

She said: "The Dirk Dirk is now fishing off the coast of Donegal, which was ravaged by the Margiris, the second largest trawler in the world, as recently as December.

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"Right now, according to vessel watching groups, there are at least three of these super trawlers in Irish waters.

"The dangers they pose and the damage they do cannot be overstated.  

"Every year the foreign super trawler fleets moves to the coasts of Ireland when our own fleet is docked and fish well into the summer. They put fishermen's gear at risk by towing and destroying them, an act which has a particularly damaging effect on crab and lobster pots. They are devastating the Irish fishing industry through their disregard for quotas and the huge number of dead fish they illegally dump back into our waters."

She also called for a redress scheme for Irish fishermen whose equipment has been destroyed or damaged by the ships.

(CD/LM)