HC Deb 04 December 1980 vol 995 cc413-4
5. Mr. Strang

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he expects the current European Economic Community fisheries regulations to be concluded in time for a common fisheries policy to come into operation on 1 January 1981.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

A revised common fisheries policy must meet the needs of the United Kingdom fishing industry, and I hope that agreement on this will prove possible before the end of this year.

Mr. Strang

Will the Minister of State now admit that North Sea herring, which our fishermen are banned from catching, are being landed in substantial quantities at Boulogne, are being sold through the official Dutch auction machinery and are being reimported by British firms into the United Kingdom? With or without an EEC agreement, will the Minister give an assurance that the Government will put an end to a scandal which mocks the efforts of this country to conserve its fish stocks?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I am aware of the reports to which the hon. Gentleman has referred. This underlines more than anything the need for a proper system of conservation and control, wholly enforced throughout the whole of the Community. That is one of the things which does not exist at the present time, in the absence of a renegotiated common fisheries policy. It is one of the major objectives that we are seeking in that renegotiation.

Mr. Donald Stewart

Does the Minister accept that, in the position of uncertainty in the industry, if no fair deal has been arranged by the specified date the Government should call the negotiations to an end? Does he accept that if he does not do this there will not be a fishing industry in this country when any agreement is concluded?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I welcome the right hon. Gentleman's awareness of the concern in the industry. If we can get a satisfactory solution to the problem, it will give the fishing industry of the United Kingdom a very much more certain basis on which to plan for the future, and that is what the United Kingdom fishing industry is looking for.

Mr. McQuarrie

Although I accept what the Minister is saying about the common fisheries policy, the renegotiation of it and the time factor involved, will he agree that the photographs which I have in my hand of the herring landing in Boulogne, openly for sale on French soil, are evidence of an absolute scandal? These are authentic photographs taken by the Daily Express showing that the herring, a banned species, has been taken into that country and sold there. As the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang) said, after that the herring are brought into this country and sold again. Is it not time that the Minister sought an urgent meeting with the French Minister concerned to ask him whether he is trying to con the British Government or whether he is willing to be realistic in his approach to the common fisheries policy?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

As I said earlier, I wholly share my hon. Friend's concern, and I am glad to have his support. One of our major objectives must be to have uniform control and proper policing throughout the Community. We do not have that at present, and those reports indicate that we do not. We shall continue to fight for it.

Mr. James Johnson

If I hand the Minister a copy of Fishing News, will he study it? He will then discover that no Commissioner is checking landings. Is he aware that the statistics for landings are a matter of conversation between the skippers of those boats—the boats are often 180 feet long — and the local chamber of commerce? How can any dependable quota allocation be based on the French behaviour in this instance?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I probably saw that report in Fishing News earlier than the hon. Gentleman, and I have studied it. Under the common fisheries policy, as we inherited it from the previous Government, there is no provision for proper policing by the Commission of incidents such as these. I am delighted that I have the hon. Gentleman's support, at least, in trying to seek a satisfactory measure for policing in the renegotiation.

Several Hon. Members

rose—

Mr. Speaker

This matter comes up again in question No. 12.