§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what progress has been made on the development of a regional fisheries forum for the Irish Sea area; [114706]
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost of establishing a regional fisheries forum for the Irish Sea area. [114707]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 15 March 2000]: Although ideas for the establishment of a Forum for Fisheries in the Irish Sea are not currently being pursued, substantial progress has been made in the context of the Irish Sea Cod Recovery Programme in the involvement of 387W fishermen in fisheries management decisions which affect them. At UK prompting, the European Commission and Council agreed on 17 December last that each stage of the Programme should be developed through a regional consultation group bringing together fishermen, scientists and administrators from the Member States concerned in the Irish Sea cod fishery. This group will also review progress towards meeting the stock recovery objectives of the Programme.
This marks an important step forward in strengthening the regional dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy.