§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list those producer organisations in the fishing industry that were fined in each year since 1988 for overshooting their allocated quota; [15587]
(2) what evidence he has that producer organisations in the fishing industry have taken action against individual members who breached their quota in each year since 1988; [15589]
(3) if he will list for each year since 1988 what action was taken by his Department against those producer organisations in the fishing industries which overshot their quota; and how many prosecutions were commenced in England and Wales; [15586]
(4) if he will list those producer organisations in the fishing industry that have taken action against individual members; and what penalties were imposed in each case in England and Wales since 1988. [15588]
§ Mr. Jack[holding answer 23 March 1995]: In the United Kingdom, producer organisations are permitted to manage allocations of quota on behalf of those members with vessels exceeding 10m overall length. Once an allocation has been made, it is the responsibility of the producer organisation to ensure that its overall allocation is not exceeded and to take appropriate action to deal with those members who infringe the rules of the organisation. The fisheries departments do not maintain records of the disciplinary action that producer organisations take. Where a producer organisation has exceeded or is likely to exceed its quota allocation for any particular stock, the licences of its members will be varied to prohibit further landings of the stock in question.
Producer organisations are subject to a system of quota penalties and compensation for over-fishing. These arrangements, which have been agreed with the industry, require that where any producer organisation or other group in the UK fishing fleet exceeds its allocation for a particular stock, the over-fish will not be included in its track record when the departments calculate the subsequent year's allocation. Where the over-fish leads to the UK quota being exceeded, and other groups in the fleet being disadvantaged by the early closure of a fishery, the over-fish will be deducted from the offending group's allocation for the subsequent year. This deduction will then be used to compensate groups prejudiced by the over-fishing, after taking account of those groups likely uptake had the fishery not been closed.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will list for each year since 1988(a) the total allowable catch for each International Council for the Exploration of the Seas area, (b) the British total allowable catch for each ICES area, (c) the total allocated to each producer organisation in tonnage and percentage terms of the British total allowable catch and (d) the total allocated to the non-sector in tonnage and percentage terms of the British total allowable catch; [15591]
(2) if he will list those producer organisations in the fishing industry which overshot their allocated quota for each species in each year since 1988 in England and Wales. [15585]
625W
§ Mr. Jack[holding answer 23 March 1995]: The system of sectoral management, under which producer organisations may manage allocations of quota on behalf of their members, has been fully operational since 1991.
I have arranged for tonnage data on Community TACs and UK quota since 1988, and on allocations made to producer organisations and the non sector and the uptake of their allocations since 1991, to be placed in the Library of the House.