Council of Fisheries Ministers (Hansard, 3 November 1983)

§ Mr. Jopling

Together with my hon. Friend the Minister of State and the Minister of State, Scottish Office, I represented the United Kingdom at two meetings of the Council of Fisheries Ministers on 3–4 and 19 October.

At the first of these two meetings the Council took decisions on a number of outstanding matters which had been under discussion at previous meetings.

First, the Council adopted a regulation containing a series of important amendments to the existing regulation on technical conservation measures. These included the introduction on the basis of scientific recommendations of an enlarged "box" off the south west of England and Wales within which, with certain exceptions, fishing for mackerel will be prohibited in order to protect the juvenile stock in the interests of the whole western mackerel fishery. This "box" will come into effect as from November 16. The minimum mesh size to be used when fishing for white fish in the North sea was increased to 90mm with effect from January 1, 1985. New Community provisions were introduced to prevent the retention, landing and sale of undersized lobsters and certain other crustaceans and shell fish.

The Council also adopted a three-year programme of grants to encourage necessary changes in the structure of member states' fishing fleets. The planned grants include aid for building and modernising vessels, decommissioning grants and laying of premia with a budget of £140 million for the Community as a whole. This decision was very welcome to the United Kingdom fishing industry which had been pressing for the implementation of this part of the common fisheries policy agreed last January. We are discussing how best to make use of these schemes with the main industry organisations and will make a further announcement on their detailed implementation as soon as possible after consultations have been completed.

In addition in the interests of maintaining good fisheries relations with Norway, the Council approved the remaining elements of the quota allocations for Norway for 1983 under the EC-Norway agreement, including the allocation to Norway on an exceptional basis for 1983 only, of 31,000 tonnes of North sea herring as agreed between the Commission and Norway during their negotiations earlier in the year. In approving these the Council agreed at my request a formal declaration instructing the Commission in its future negotiations with Norway to seek to proceed on the basis of the relative ownership shares of North sea herring which we and the rest of the Community have hitherto considered appropriate.

I should point out that the technical conservation measures and the Norway quotas referred to above were based on proposals recommended for the further consideration of the House by the Select Committee on European Legislation immediately before the recess. 412W Although it had not been possible for the House to debate these proposals I judged that the national interest would not be served by my withholding agreement to them.

The Council, both on 3–4 and on 19 October, also held intensive discussions on quota allocations between the member states for North sea herring but no agreement was reached. Proposed TACs and quotas for 1983 for other species were also discussed but in the light of the position on North sea herring and the Danish Government's objections to the proposed TACs and quotas for Greenland cod and redfish it did not prove possible to reach any agreement. I did, however, persuade the Commission to review the closure of the western mackerel fishery north of 58°N and I am glad to say that a proposal to defer this for a month, until 1 December, to the benefit of our pelagic fishermen, is expected to go through shortly.

The Council will be meeting again on December 14. Meanwhile fishing continues to be governed by the rolled-over TACs and quotas for 1982 agreed earlier this year subject only to the amendment on western mackerel referred to above.