Icelandic Fisheries (Hansard, 29 October 1975)

§ 11. Mr. Henderson
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current situation in regard to Iceland's fishing limits.

§ 32. Mr. Wall
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his talks with the Icelandic Government over fisheries limits.

§ Mr. Hattersley
An Icelandic delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Icelandic Minister of Industry, visited London for official talks on 23rd and 24th October.
It was then agreed that scientific and technical discussions on the state of the fish stocks off Iceland should be held by British and Icelandic fisheries experts as soon as possible and that a further meeting at ministerial level should take place in the light of those discussions. While we did not make as much progress as I hoped during last week's meetings, negotiations are still continuing and we must continue to hope that it will be possible to reach a satisfactory agreement to replace the one which expires on 13th November.

§ Mr. Henderson
In the course of these discussions, will the Minister take into account the fact that Iceland has a quota of almost 22,000 tons of herring in the North Sea and off the West Coast and that it would be extremely favourable to our fishermen if, as part of this arrangement, Iceland's quota of herring could be transferred to our fishermen in exchange for any concessions?

§ Mr. Hattersley
That proposal would go far outside the established intentions that we have had since this issue was first mooted and discussed two years ago. The important objective, and one I still hope to achieve, is to make sure that those British fishermen who traditionally fish in the waters now claimed by Iceland should continue to do so. That must be my primary objective.

§ Mr. Robert Hughes
May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the manner in which he is pursuing the negotiations? Will he be fortified by the knowledge that all quarters of the House are anxious 1578 to see an agreement to the benefit of British fishermen?

§ Mr. Hattersley
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he has said. I emphasise to him how important and helpful it has been to those of us who have carried on the British side of this discussion to know that the British political parties and all sections of British interests have been determined that an honourable and just settlement should come about. It enabled me to tell the representatives of the Icelandic Government that, although strong feelings were held on the subject in Iceland, similar feelings were held in Great Britain. That was a great help during the first two stages of the negotiations.

§ Mr. Wall
Although there must be some flexibility in negotiation when deciding the amount of fish to be caught in various areas off Iceland, will the right hon. Gentleman undertake to maintain the rights of British fishermen to fish up to the limits under the present agreement? If, as we hope does not happen, agreement is not reached for the future, will the right hon. Gentleman ensure that British fishermen are given all necessary protection?

§ Mr. Hattersley
I can answer "Yes" to both questions. If the agreement is not renewed or replaced by 13th November, there is no doubt about what the rights of the British fishing industry are. Those rights have been established by the International Court of Justice. Clearly, the British fishing industry will continue to exercise those rights. We hope that they will be exercised with moderation and restraint. In so doing the British trawler industry must have the protection of Her Majesty's Government, and it will.

§ Mr. McNamara
Is my right hon. Friend aware that his statement to the effect that there will be adequate protection for British fishermen after 13th November if there is no settlement will be warmly welcomed in all the fishing ports, particularly on Humberside? Is he further aware that it is important to stress to the Icelandic Government the severe unemployment situation in many of our fishing areas, again particularly on Humberside? Is it not the case that the Icelandic standard of living is far in excess of the ordinary British fisherman's living 1579 standard, while the Icelandic unemployment figures are low compared with ours?

§ Mr. Hattersley
My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is vital that these discussions should not be carried on as though Great Britain were a powerful and rich nation attempting to exploit a small and weak nation. Great Britain is attempting to establish, re-establish and confirm rights granted and confirmed under international legal conditions. We are attempting to do that with a country with which we have the friendliest relations, but a country whose income per head is a great deal higher than that in Great Britain and whose unemployment is negligible. Those factors have to be borne in mind.