HC Deb 10 December 1981 vol 14 cc980-2
18. Sir Albert Costain

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what agreements have now been reached in relation to a common fisheries policy.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I said in the debate yesterday.

Sir Albert Costain

Does the Minister appreciate the great concern of South Coast fishermen about conservation? Will he accept their congratulations on what he is doing in this regard? Will he also keep the public fully informed?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

Yes. A mark of our progress in the negotiations so far has been the adoption at Community level of many conservation measures that were originally United Kingdom national measures, thus giving our own fishermen greater security. I assure my hon. Friend that we shall report to the House on all meetings in Brussels at which matters of importance are discussed.

Mr. Buchan

Does the Minister agree that one of the best methods of dealing with conservation is to have a proper system of limits, policed by ourselves within the Community?

Has the Minister seen the industry's demands for a 12-mile exclusive limit? If so, will he reply to them? Does he realise that the industry fears a sell-out by the Government on this? Will he now come clean with the House and say that he will accept only a 12-mile exclusive limit, with the phasing-out of historic rights, and nothing less?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I am surprised at the hon. Gentleman's lack of knowledge of the industry and the arrangements within it. Policing within our own waters is entirely the responsibility of the United Kingdom and we carry it out vigorously, regardless of which nation is involved.

I am not surprised that the hon. Gentleman seeks to play down the importance of the conservation measures to which my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Sir A. Costain) referred, as, in The Hague agreement, his Government gave away the right of the United Kingdom Government to enforce their own conservation measures.

Mr. Myles

Will my right hon. Friend consider using some of the herring catch at present being used for fish meal as aid to Poland, rather than using intervention beef, which is forecast to be scarce?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

So far as I am aware, herring has not been one of the commodities covered in discussions with Poland, but I am sure that my hon. Friend is aware that fish is one of the items covered by some of the aid agreements with third countries. I shall bear in mind what he has said.

Mr. Buchan

Will the Minister answer my question? May we now have a flat assurance that he will accept the demands of the industry for a 12-mile exclusive limit, with the phasing out of historic rights, quotas that properly represent the two-thirds of fish within our waters and the dominant preference inside the 50-mile limit? The industry wants answers on those three matters and we have a very short time in which to obtain them from the Minister.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I am interested to hear the hon. Gentleman, who yesterday said that it must be a 12-mile limit and nothing else, now talking about historic rights within 12 miles. I have nothing to add to what I said yesterday. I made the position perfectly plain. It is no different from what I have said on previous occasions in the House. If the hon. Gentleman was not present on previous occasions, that is his fault and not mine.

Mr. Henderson

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the fishing industry greatly appreciated his vigorous response to the derisory proposals of the European Commission on guide prices for 1982? Since then has there been any increase in confidence about being able to improve those prices substantially?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

We had a very difficult job over the question of increasing those prices. I hope that we shall be successful in maintaining a certain increase over the extremely unhappy proposals that were originally made.

Mr. Maclennan

If the Government have found that the 1976 Hague agreement is operating against British national interests, are they seeking to renegotiate it?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

That question comes ill from the hon. Gentleman, who was a member of the then Labour Government. The time to renegotiate those matters was at the time of Dublin and the time of the extension of limits to 200 miles. I do not have a great deal of respect for advice from a quarter that has already failed.