§ Mr FabricantTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Fisheries Council held in Brussels on 21 and 22 December; and if he will make a statement. [8132]
§ Mr. BaldryI represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the Fisheries Council in Brussels on 21–22 December, together with my hon. Friends the Under-Secretaries of State at the Scottish Office and at the Northern Ireland Office.
The Council agreed by qualified majority, with Sweden voting against, the total allowable catches and quotas to apply in 1996. The agreement fulfilled the Government's objective of securing the best possible deal for British fishermen consistent with the scientific advice and the conservation of stocks for the future. In the final package, the total UK quotas agreed for the stocks of most importance to our fishermen were over 50,000 tonnes higher in cod equivalent terms than the quotas being discussed at the start of negotiations. This increase is worth over £30 million to the industry at 1995 prices. I invoked Hague preference on all the stocks where it was necessary to do so.
The Council unanimously agreed access and quota arrangements for 1996 with neighbouring non-member states. The United Kingdom has large quotas at north Norway and we secured them at the same level as for 1995. Similarly, we have retained our quotas in Faroese, Greenland and Icelandic waters at the same level as in 1995. There was unanimous agreement to a negotiating mandate for the Commission to consolidate and update the Community's fisheries agreements with non-member states in the Baltic sea.
The Council agreed by qualified majority, with Portugal voting against, to the allocation of the Community's 1996 quotas in the waters covered by the North West Atlantic Fisheries Organisation. The United Kingdom's quota remains the same as in 1995. There was also unanimous agreement to a package of control measures to be applied in NAFO waters, implementing the agreement reached between the Community and Canada last April.
The Commission presented a report on the implementation of technical conservation measures under the common fisheries policy. I led the way in pressing the case for improvements to be made to help conserve stocks and it was agreed that the Commission should present new proposals including measures to increase the effectiveness of the plaice box and to improve the selectivity of towed fishing gears. The Council undertook to reach a decision on these proposals before the end of 1996.
The Commission reported on the enforcement of Community rules on drift nets in 1995. The Council noted the success of the enforcement arrangements and the very high level of compliance with the rules in the tuna fishery in the north east Atlantic.
The Council agreed by qualified majority, with the Netherlands voting against, to adjustments in the rules governing the funding of schemes to reduce the size of fishing fleets. A ceiling on the funds that may be devoted to encouraging temporary cessation of fishing activity was 130W agreed and the level of Community funding for decommissioning vessels more than 30 years old was increased.