HC Deb 17 July 1980 vol 988 cc706-8W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Minister of Agricultre, Fisheries and Food whether the phrase"loss of catch potential in third country waters"in the text of the declaration on the common fisheries policy refers to the actual loss of catches made in the past in Icelandic, Norwegian, Russian and Faroesan waters; and if so, whether he will publish the relative shares of catches made by Great Britain, France, Germany and Denmark in the period which he considers most relevant to the British case.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

[pursuant to his reply, 26 June 1980, c. 301]: The following table sets out the relative share of catches of all species taken annually in the waters of third countries by the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Denmark from 1970 to the latest year for which final information is available. In the view of the Government, account should be taken not only of the overall losses of fishing opportunity but also of the composition of these catches, which in the case of the United Kingdom, comprise mainly high-value demersal species such as cod and haddock.

CATCHES OF ALL FISH (INCLUDING INVERTEBRATES) BY EUROPEAN COMMUNITY MEMBER STATES IN THIRD COUNTRY WATERS* 1970–1977:
TONNES CAUGHT, WEIGHT AND PERCENTAGE†
Year, tonnes and percentage
Member State 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
United Kingdom 433,383 368,476 320,817 332,512 332,575 292,363 228,533 223,565
47 per cent. 47 per cent. 47 per cent. 43 per cent. 40 per cent. 41 per cent. 35 per cent. 38 per cent.
France‡ 128,295 115,382 104,536 99,455 111,761 100,635 92,196 82,853
14 per cent. 15 per cent. 15 per cent. 13 per cent. 13 per cent. 14 per cent. 14 per cent. 14 per cent.
Germany 329,750 260,312 211,075 283,052 333,437 259,300 238,652 190,341
35 per cent 33 per cent. 31 per cent. 36 per cent. 40 per cent. 36 per cent. 37 per cent. 32 per cent.
Denmark§ 39,642 43,300 50,670 61,194 62,920 63,580 89,345 92,929
4 per cent. 5 per cent. 7 per cent. 8 per cent. 7 per cent. 9 per cent. 14 per cent. 16 per cent.
TOTAL║ 931,070 787,470 687,098 776,213 840,693 715,878 648,726 589,688
* Comprising the Barents Sea and Murman Coast (ICES Area I), Northward of the Norwegian Coast (ICES II), the Baltic (ICES IIID), Iceland and Faroes (ICES V), the Canadian East Coast, excluding St. Pierre and Miquelon (NAFO Areas 0 and 2 to 5, except 3 PS) and part of the North East Coast of the United States (NAFO 6).
† Catches expressed as a percentage of the total catch by the four member States concerned.
‡ Excluding St. Pierre and Miquelon and other overseas departments.
§ Excluding Greenland.
║ Excluding limited catches by Belgium, the Irish Republic, Italy and the Netherlands.