HC Deb 12 May 1976 vol 911 cc437-40
5. Mr. Sproat

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet representatives of the fishing industry.

Mr. Millan

I have already met representatives of the distant-water sector to discuss the situation at Iceland. I intend to meet representatives of both the inshore and the distant-water sectors, principally about the common fisheries policy and the economic situation, in the course of the next few weeks.

Mr. Sproat

I welcome the meeting that the right hon. Gentleman has arranged. Will he tell us in advance why no statement has been made to the House of Commons about the ending of the last session of the important Law of the Sea Conference? Does he agree that throwing away in advance our card of a 100-mile exclusive limit was incredible diplomatic stupidity and that variable limits will be totally unworkable?

Mr. Millan

I disagree completely with the hon. Gentleman. We have taken a realistic view of the situation. Our position could have been that much easier had the previous Conservative Government not thrown all their cards away before we got into the Common Market.

Mr. Robert Hughes

Does my right hon. Friend recall that in all the discussions with the various sections of the fishing industry the one matter on which they were agreed concerning limits, if nothing else, was that variable limits were difficult to police? Will he assure us that something will be done to try to retrieve that position?

Mr. Millan

Any limit is difficult to police. My hon. Friend will know that, apart from that question, enforcement and other matters are now being discussed in the Common Market context.

Mr. Henderson

Does the Secretary of State accept that there is cross-party agreement on the need to obtain a better deal on limits for our fishermen? Does he also accept that my hon. Friends and I, and no doubt other Members in other parts of the House, are willing to join an all-party delegation to the EEC to try to get a better deal for our fishermen?

Mr. Millan

I am always interested in such offers, even from the unlikeliest of sources. The Government have already made it clear that the Commission's proposals on limits are unacceptable. That is why we must negotiate limits more satisfactory to our industry.

12. Mr. Robert Hughes

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has had from the Scottish Trawlers' Federation regarding the financial prospects of the fishing industry.

Mr. Hugh D. Brown

The Scottish Trawlers' Federation wrote to the former Secretary of State on 20th April requesting a meeting to discuss a number of important issues, including its financial position. Our officials met the federation last week and my right hon. Friend will see the federation in the course of the next few weeks.

Mr. Hughes

I am very grateful for that reply. At the meeting with the officials, was it possible to sort out the differences of base lines with regard to calculations for earnings, which was a cause of dispute between the Government and the STF? Notwithstanding that the most recent figures show a very welcome upturn in terms of earnings, how quickly can the Government respond if matters change drastically in the near future?

Mr. Brown

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the constructive approach that he adopted in January—unlike the exaggerated approach of the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Sproat). The industry was proclaiming in January that there would not be an industry in March, so I have news for the hon. Member for Aberdeen, South, as well as a reply for my hon. Friend.—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. Wilson) does not know much about this. He will not like the reply because it is a good one.

Earnings per day at sea for the first quarter of 1976 are 42 per cent. above 1975 levels. Average prices of white fish at Aberdeen reached record levels in the first two weeks of April. The indications are that the vastly improved earnings levels are being sustained. In addition, I can give my hon. Friend the assurance that, if there is any drastic reduction in earnings or anything serious affecting the industry, we shall, of course, give it urgent consideration.

Mr. Sproat

Cannot the hon. Gentleman see that it is absurdly misleading to calculate the industry's viability over the whole year merely by extrapolating the earnings over only a short optimum period? Will he say something about the latest situation on EEC reference prices?

Mr. Brown

Even I can understand that it is not wise to anticipate earnings in detail. All I am saying is that for the first three months and into April earnings have been well above what the industry itself was predicting, so I have a right to claim that we were right in the first instance.

As regards the EEC, action has been taken in the reference price for imports of cod. However, as the hon. Gentleman knows, we need imports, so the reference price is something that we want to watch constantly.