§ Sir Peter Millsasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is able to announce his proposals for financial aid to restructure the fishing fleet.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe Government have today laid before Parliament the Fishing Vessels (Financial Assistance) Scheme 1983, which provides for grants for decommissioning and laying up vessels, and for exploratory fishing voyages and joint ventures.
As my right hon. Friend explained in the House on 7 December, decommissioning grants will be available for vessels of at least 10m in length, at a rate of £400 per gross registered ton. Laying up grants related to the insured value or purchase price of the vessel will also be available for vessels of at least 10m in length. Applications for those two grants may be made up to the end of September 1986. Grants for exploratory voyages and for joint ventures with 162W certain third countries will be available for vessels of at least 24m between perpendiculars. Applications may be made up to the end of March 1986.
All these four grants implement measures approved by the Council of Ministers on 4 October this year. Financial provision of £23.1 million will be sought for payments to vessel owners, in addition to the £4 million already announced by me on 8 November. Under the terms of the Community measures, 50 per cent. of most of the payments made by the Exchequer will be reimbursed by the European Commission. In addition, aid will continue to be available for the building and modernisation of fishing vessels.
Taken together, these measures will be an important element in our strategy for promoting the adaptation of the fleet to the future fishing opportunities open to it. The decommissioning grant in particular should encourage a reduction in the number of vessels in those sections of the fleet where total capacity exceeds fishing opportunities. In order to protect the benefits to be expected from this part of the restructuring programme, it will be necessary to exercise some controls.
The Government have decided therefore that, initially for a period of three years until the end of 1986,restrictions should be placed upon fishing by vessels of at least 10m in length for certain stocks where national catch quotas may be expected to be fully taken up by the national fleet. These "pressure" stocks include the main pelagic species and various important white fish stocks. Access to these "pressure" stocks for all vessels of at least 10m will be subject to licence.
Where a vessel is decommissioned with grant its licence will be revoked and will not be available for transfer to another vessel. Full details of the licensing arrangements and of the stocks to which they will apply will be announced as soon as the necessary discussions with the industry have been completed.
The extension of the current licensing controls from vessels of 40 ft or more registered length to vessels of at least 10m is provided for in three orders which the Government are also laying before Parliament today. These will also bring our licensing arrangements into line with the European Community's control regulation.