HC Deb 06 July 1995 vol 263 cc502-4
5. Mr. Kirkwood

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on effort control functions in the CFP; and if he will make a statement. [31165]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Tony Baldry)

My predecessor sent the hon. Member a copy of his reply of 19 June to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives (Mr. Harris) on the outcome of the Fisheries Council held in Luxembourg on 15 June.

Mr. Kirkwood

I welcome the Minister to his new berth looking after fisheries and I hope that he will not get too far out of his depth too quickly. Does he agree that encouraging skippers to pursue fisheries outside traditional United Kingdom waters could make a significant contribution to reducing pressure on North sea stocks? Is he aware that some skippers in Eyemouth in my constituency are finding it difficult to pick their way through the bureaucracy to get their hands on some of the grants that would enable them to transfer? Will he undertake as a matter of priority to make those grants available to skippers in the North sea fleet, as other European Union Ministers do? As he has now been in office for nearly four hours, is it not about time that he got something done about that?

Mr. Baldry

First, I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind comments. I am well aware of the understandable concerns of many fishing communities about their future. The hon. Gentleman's constituents are obviously trying to find out whether there are other opportunities out of traditional fishing waters. If he and some of the skippers from his constituency would like to discuss that with me, I would be interested to find out whether there are ways in which we can help further. It would be disingenuous to suggest that there are either undiscovered waters or undiscovered sources of funding in the European Union budget or our own funds which might give them substantial help, but I am certainly prepared to study every possible detail which might be of assistance to his constituents.

Mr. Harris

I welcome my hon. Friend to his post and hope that he will not find it too painful a bed of nails. I also pay tribute to his predecessor. Has he had time to grasp the fundamental point that for any control mechanism to succeed it must be seen by our fishermen to be broadly fair in terms of the way they are treated compared with fishermen from other member states? In that respect, may I give him a little advice and suggest that he could make an excellent start by completely dropping any idea of implementing our unilateral days-at-sea restrictions, which the industry will never stand?

Mr. Baldry

I think that the whole House would join my hon. Friend in his remarks about my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack), who did an enormous amount to assist the United Kingdom fishing industry. The House knows the considerable interest that my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives has in this matter. I hope that in the not too distant future I shall be able to visit his constituency and meet the fishermen with him to hear of their concerns at first hand. He can rest assured that we are taking enforcement of fisheries arrangements very seriously. Of course they have to be seen to be fair. Spanish fishing activity, for instance, will be monitored very closely when the new access arrangements take effect next year.

On days at sea, as my hon. Friend knows, we have yet to hear from the European Court on that matter. When we do, we shall have to consider the judgment in the light of existing conditions—not least the fact that, since the idea was first mooted, the European Commission has introduced ceilings on effort in western waters. Clearly that has now to be taken into consideration.

Mr. Macdonald

I join other hon. Members in welcoming the Minister. He mentioned Spanish access. Will he take an early look at the way in which the control regime on Spanish access will affect the inshore fleet around western waters? There is no Spanish access to the inshore fleet, so it would seem absurd to bring the inshore fleet into restrictions that are now being proposed to control both British and Spanish boats in western waters. I ask the Minister to take an early look at that and perhaps write to me about whether an exemption can be provided for boats which operate purely within the 12-mile limit, in inshore waters.

Mr. Baldry

We must recognise that it was at the United Kingdom's insistence that both the coastal and flag states are to have a key role in monitoring the fishing activities of vessels permitted to fish in western waters. The European Commission has just published its proposals. We shall study those proposals carefully to ensure that they are fully justified and that they are compatible with the commitment to minimise the burden falling on our industry, because obviously a balance must be struck between enforcement and minimising the burdens on industry.

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