HC Deb 11 April 1974 vol 872 cc614-7
7. Mr. Wall

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he proposes to proceed with the banning of beam trawling within the 12-mile limit.

14. Mr. Luce

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he plans to introduce an order to ban beam trawling.

20. Mr. Bowden

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the ban on heavy beam trawling will be imposed up to the 12-mile limit.

Mr. Buchan

I would refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Thanet, East (Mr. Aitken) on 9th April— [Vol. 872, c. 107]—which, in case the hon. Member missed it, was that I intend to review the whole position for myself and consult urgently once more with all the interests involved.

Mr. Wall

I thank the Minister for that reply, but I wonder whether he appreciates that the previous Government finally decided, on conservation grounds, that beam trawling should be abandoned. Is he aware that some fishermen abuse the whole concept of beam trawling by loading the beams with chains, which is definitely a bad practice from the point of view of conservation? Will he take action as quickly as possible?

Mr. Buchan

The regulations have not yet been brought in, and I am taking the opportunity to look into the matter myself. I want to look at the scientific evidence and at both sides of the argument. With any luck, I hope to use a portion of the recess to go down to the area myself, if I possibly can, to have discussions. I am concerned about conservation, but I do not want to hinder unnecessarily an efficient method of fishing.

Mr. Luce

Will the Minister do his best to make a decision as quickly as possible? Is he aware that the previous Government undertook weeks of consultation with the fishing industry before taking their final decision? Is the hon. Gentleman aware also that the inshore fishermen of Sussex are giving evidence that their catch so far this year is roughly half their catch last year? May we have an assurance that the Minister will keep closely in mind the whole problem of conservation and the need to preserve our offshore breeding grounds?

Mr. Buchan

I shall keep all these matters in mind. In terms of inshore fishing, I have lived with these problems for 30 or 40 years. I know the problem to which the hon. Gentleman refers, and I shall be paying great attention to it.

Mr. Bowden

The Minister's reply will be very disappointing to the inshore fishermen of Sussex, and of Brighton in particular. He will find on his file—I hope that he will study it—the correspondence which I sent to his predecessor from all chief fishery officers in the country, who overwhelmingly said that they believe that there should be an immediate ban on this type of beam trawling and who are convinced that it will lead to long-term permanent damage. Since widespread consultations have already been taken, will the hon. Gentleman please act quickly, since otherwise there will not be any fish left to catch?

Mr. Buchan

I ask the hon. Gentleman to recognise that there has been no delay. In the meantime, I am taking the opportunity to re-conduct the discussions. I remind the hon. Gentleman, lest he has forgotten, that we are now the Government, the responsibility is ours, and, with respect, I think that the responsible Minister is entitled to re-examine the evidence before he finally decides whether to proceed with the regulations. I shall bear all the points in mind, including any fresh representations which the hon. Gentleman wishes to put to me.

Mr. Costain

Will the Minister take it that the situation is exactly the same on the Kent coast and in the Straits of Dover? Does he realise that while we are waiting for a decision beam trawling is going on apace and conservation is becoming a serious problem?

Mr. Buchan

I do not think that the situation will be greatly altered by the time scale which I have set myself for the discussions.

Mr. Anthony Stoddart

Will the hon. Gentleman accept from me that I found this an immensely difficult matter to decide? Will he, at the same time, take into account that there was—and there is no reason to suppose that there is not still—a tremendously heavy weight of opinion in the fishing industry itself which should not be neglected? I detected a shake of the head on the Minister's part when my hon. Friend the Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Mr. Bowden) said that people would be very disappointed if the previous Government's decision were not adhered to. I assure the hon. Gentleman that the concern is not confined to Sussex. The representations made to me came from all over the country.

Mr. Buchan

I think that we are coming to a sorry pass if shaking one's head is seen as a definitive answer in these matters. However, I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's recognition of the difficulties, and I acknowledge the attention which he gave to the matter himself. Perhaps he will bear in mind that there is always a tendency to get an imbalance of argument one way or the other when these interests come up. In a sense, I suppose that the beam trawler-men reacted a little slowly on this matter. What I am trying to do, regardless of the volume of the representations made, is to assess the merits of the representations. I shall try to do it as objectively as I can.