EC Fishing Quotas: Impact (Hansard, 23 January 1990)

§ The Minister of State, Scottish Office (Lord Sanderson of Bowden)
My Lords, I am very much aware of the serious difficulties which some fishermen could face during this year because of the reductions, particularly of haddock and cod in the North Sea, were essential in order to prevent further reductions particularly of haddock and cod in the North Sea, were essential in order to prevent further deterioration in stocks which are vital to the long-term future of the fishing industry.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. While conservation of threatened fish stocks must be the highest priority, do the Government foresee that the British fishermen affected will have to spend much of 1990 in port as part of the arrangements to keep within the quotas? If so, how are they to earn a living?

§ Lord Sanderson of Bowden
My Lords, quota management of these stocks is extremely important. Discussions are about to commence with the industry as to how that should take place. Various measures will have to be taken and some of them will be very tough. However, we should not now decide what they should be.

§ Lord Grimond
My Lords, will the Government bear in mind that on certain islands off the coast of Scotland it is impossible to find any employment other than fishing and that the situation there may require special treatment in the near future?

§ Lord Sanderson of Bowden
My Lords, I am aware of what the noble Lord has said. I was interested to read in Fishing News, published on 19th January, that last year Shetland attained record landings. I accept the fact that there are great difficulties in the North Sea as regards the fishing of haddock and cod. However, one ought to look most carefully at the value of the fish caught in 1989. The noble Lord will see that it increased, particularly in relation to haddock. This means that the situation was not so desperate as we had feared in 1989.

§ Lord Carmichael of Kelvingrove
My Lords, in the light of the agreed need to keep the quotas within the limits of scientific advice—we all accept 918 that—what is the reaction of the Government to a decision given last Friday in Aberdeen sheriff court by Sheriff Douglas Risk which has been described as appearing to drive a seine-net trawler through the agreement?

§ Lord Sanderson of Bowden
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for asking that question. The Government are still studying the text most carefully. It may be necessary to make changes to fishing vessel licences. The points made by the sheriff will be borne in mind when deciding the basis on which future prosecutions take place. The Government have not yet decided whether they will appeal against the judgment.

§ Lord Mowbray and Stourton
My Lords, can my noble friend say why his right honourable friend is able to make an annual set-aside payment to farmers of £80 per acre for agricultural non-production when, in a similar capacity as Minister responsible for fisheries, he is unable to provide similar payments for fishermen who are being compelled by EC rules to set aside, no doubt for good purposes?

§ Lord Sanderson of Bowden
My Lords, I am sure my noble friend will be well aware of the difficulties encountered by the de-commissioning scheme which was criticised most strongly by the Public Accounts Committee and the NAO. The Government have looked carefully at the options open to them and must decide what is good value for money. There are major difficulties: not everyone agrees that de-commissioning is an answer to the problem of over-capacity. My noble friend should bear in mind the fact that the value of catches over the past 10 years has increased dramatically. Fishermen know well that they must accept good and bad years.

§ Lord Mackie of Benshie
My Lords, does the Minister agree that we are talking about the year to come—that is 1990—and not about how well the fishermen did in the past? Does he further agree that in many cases the fishermen's greatest expenditure is paying for boats which they were encouraged to buy, through grants, for large sums of money? If the year is as bad as is feared, is there not a case for the Government assisting by placing a moratorium on repayments for expensive boats?

§ Lord Sanderson of Bowden
My Lords, I am well aware of the difficulties which may be encountered in any year as regards cutting the opportunities to fish. However, although there is a difficult situation as regards the quotas of North Sea haddock and cod, the Government obtained the best possible deal at the December meeting of the Council of Ministers. Having obtained that deal we must try to ensure that the industry has a long-term future. I accept that the noble Lord has a point in saying that this year may be difficult. But that was also the case a year ago. I was not happy when the harbingers of doom 12 months ago were saying that the industry was in a state of collapse. It certainly was not.

§ Lord Stoddart of Swindon
My Lords, is it not a fact that only a short time ago Senor Marin, the 919 Spanish Commissioner for fishing, predicted that the British fishing industry would have to cut by 20 per cent? Would that not be a disaster for the British fishing industry and would it not be the result of greed on the part of other European nations? Is it not about time that decisions were made about the repatriation of our fishing assets to this country, this Government and this Parliament?

§ Lord Sanderson of Bowden
My Lords, the noble Lord would have a point if this country did not fish in international waters, but it does. Also one must realise—and I accept that this is a very difficult area—that one must reach an agreement as to the fishing opportunities of the various nations within EC waters. That is a very difficult subject. I do not believe that it should go unnoticed that four Ministers from this Government attended the Council of Ministers in Brussels in December and the result was very much better than Señor Marin's original plan suggested.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, I should like to refer to the Aberdeen court decision last Friday which dismissed the charges against a British skipper for over-fishing. While I recognise that there may be an appeal, if the judgment stands, does that not mean that the Government will have to reconsider the whole licensing system for British boats?

§ Lord Sanderson of Bowden
My Lords, obviously if there is a problem in relation to the sheriff's judgment, that will have to be taken into account by the Government, and taken into account speedily, because we must move foward to arrangements for the proper management of quotas at a very early date. That is why we hope to start those discussions with the industry very soon. I assure my noble friend that discussions are going on rapidly within government as to the effect of the sheriff's judgment.