§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what is the total allowable catch of mackerel which has been allocated to EEC countries other than the United Kingdom; if he will list in the Official Report each country and the quota allocated to it, specifying the sea area where the catching is to be permitted; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what is the total allowable catch for mackerel for the pelagic fleet; whether this total is exclusively for the United Kingdom fleet and not shared with Norway or the Faroes; what is the period covered by this total allowable catch; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThere are at present no agreed total allowable catches for mackerel though the European Commission has put forward proposals. No quotas have therefore been agreed for the United Kingdom or any other EEC member State.
It has been agreed that in 1982 Faroese vessels may take up to 10,000 tonnes of Western mackerel in the waters of member States of the EEC and that similarly Norway may take 16,000 tonnes of this stock. This is in return for opportunities for vessels of member States of the EEC to fish in the waters of those countries.