§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether(a) the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and (b) the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries has scientific evidence on the connection between fishing effort by the UK fishing fleet and the levels of fish stocks in UK national waters; and if she will review fisheries management systems including those applied by the Faeroese and Icelandic industries. [133991]
§ Mr. BradshawIn recognition of the migratory behaviour of the fish species concerned, stock assessments and related work are carried out on identifiably discrete stocks of fish, rather than according to national boundaries. For the same reason they are carried out by independent international organisations, which combine data from most of the main countries and fleets that exploit each stock in order to assess their impact on stocks. As part of this process, the scientists from the UK who attend the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries, (STECF) therefore submit data on our national catch, and on fishing effort, to inform the discussions. I expect the report being prepared on fisheries by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit to cover a broad range of issues related to fisheries management, including possible alternative management systems.