§ Q10. Mr. Anthony Steen (Totnes)What representations the Government have received from the pleasure boat industry regarding rod and line fishing.
§ The Prime MinisterWe have received a number of representations from the pleasure boat industry regarding rod and line fishing—including, I understand, one from the hon. Gentleman himself.
§ Mr. SteenIs the Prime Minister aware that, if he came out angling off the Devon coast, he would not catch one mackerel? The reason for that is simple. EU commercial industrial factory ships are taking all the mackerel, spraying chemicals on them, so that they cannot be identified, and then converting them into feed for European animals. Is he aware of that? Will he tell EU Ministers that fishing for mackerel in a conservation mackerel box has to stop?
§ The Prime MinisterI thank the hon. Gentleman for his invitation. He has issued so many invitations to me to 322 come out on various boats with him in the past few weeks that I am beginning to get worried about us. To be frank, I was not aware of the particular problem to which he has just referred, but I will look into it carefully. I know that he is a strong critic of the common fisheries policy, and I know that there have been a lot of difficulties in its implementation. However, I still believe that we would make a great mistake if we withdrew from it or scrapped it. [HON. MEMBERS: "Rubbish."] Tory Front-Benchers say that that is rubbish. I think that our fishermen would lose an awful lot more if we withdrew from that policy.
§ The Minister for the Cabinet Office (Dr. Jack Cunningham)The Tories signed up to it.
§ The Prime MinisterAs my right hon. Friend points out, it was actually signed by the Tory party in government. I will look carefully into the point raised by the hon. Member for Totnes (Mr. Steen) and be in touch with him about it.