§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what tonnages were allocated to each member State of the European Economic Community when herring fishing was reopened in the southern part of the North Sea; and what tonnages have already been fished by each member State since that time.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithNo agreement was reached by the Council of Ministers on the allocation of the proposed total allowable catch of 20,000 tonnes of herring in the southern North Sea and eastern English Channel between 1 October 1981 and 31 March 1982. The allocation proposed by the European Commission was as follows:
Tonnes Belgium 1,000 Denmark 1,000 Germany 1,000 France 5,000 Netherlands 9,000 United Kingdom 2,000 It was also envisaged that 1,000 tonnes be allocated to Sweden but this was never implemented.
The latest information my Department has of catch reports submitted to the European Commission is as follows:
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§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg[pursuant to his reply, 28 January 1982, c. 432]: The numbers and percentages of children born in the four years 1977 to 1980 vaccinated against whooping cough by the end of 1980 in England and in each regional health authority are shown as follows. Children are normally vaccinated in the first year of life and most of these born in 1980 would not have completed the full course until sometime in 1981. These figures are therefore normally expressed in terms of the number of children vaccinated by the end of the second year of life.
Tonnes Belgium no report yet submitted Denmark to 21 December 1981 11,552 Germany to 31 December 1981 Nil France to 31 October 1981 600 Netherlands to 21 January 1982 7,675 United Kingdom to 31 January 1982 610 Total 20,437
§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why herring fishing in the southern part of the North Sea has been banned by the European Economic Community Commission; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe European Commission proposed in 1981, in line with the authoritative advice of international scientists, that the total allowable herring catch in the southern North Sea south of 53N and the eastern English Channel should not exceed 20,000 tonnes between 1 October 1981 and 31 March 1982. Agreement has reached on these arrangements between the Community and Norway which also has a traditional interest in the North Sea herring fishery.
The Commission recently notified member States that according to the catch reports submitted to them by member States, landings had reached the level of 20,000 tonnes.