Fisheries Council (Hansard, 20 December 1984)

§ Mr. Jopling

Together with my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State, Scottish Office, and my hon. Friend the Minister of State in my Department, I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers on 19 December.

The Commission completed its proposals for the total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 1985, following the agreement which it had reached with Norway on 13 December on arrangements for 1985 for the full range of stocks subject to the EC-Norway fisheries agreement, with the exception of North sea herring. On this stock the Commission proposed a provisional TAC and quotas for the member states in the Community sector pending the completion of negotiations with Norway in the course of 1985. The Commission also submitted for approval the outcome of its negotiations with the Faroe Islands and Spain on the arrangements for 1985 under the fisheries agreements with these countries. In addition, the Commission put forward a proposal for a Council regulation providing interim arrangements for fishing by member states in Greenland waters pending ratification of the treaty on Greenland's withdrawal and the associated agreement on fisheries.

Negotiations proceeded on the basis of these proposals into the early hours of the morning, when the Presidency and the Commission were able to put forward a compromise package to which all other member states were able to give their agreement. I considered that this package was a very satisfactory one for the United Kingdom too, but in view of the recommendation of the Select Committee on European Legislation I entered a formal reservation on the adoption of the regulations for 1985 pending a debate in the House, which I hope it will be possible to hold shortly after the Christmas recess. In order that fishing should not be interrupted I agreed that the regulations in question should be adopted on an interim basis to 20 January only, pending clarification of the United Kingdom position following completion of parliamentary scrutiny procedures.

The House will be given a full account of the compromise package in the forthcoming debate. It contains significant improvements in the availabilities for our fishermen for all the important North sea white fish stocks and for a number of the flatfish stocks in the south-west and western waters. In no case are any of these quotas lower than for 1984. There is also a significant increase in the availability, and improvement in the distribution, of North Sea herring and, pending agreement on a definitive 260W allocation of the stock for 1985, there will be no Norwegian fishing for herring in the Community sector of the North Sea. The quotas allocated to Norway and the Faroes for 1985 for certain pelagic stocks of particular interest to United Kingdom fishermen have been reduced.

The quotas allocated to Spain for hake, monk, megrim, and other by-catch species are the same as those for 1984 but there is a downward adjustment of the number of licences for Spanish vessels in those fisheries.

Finally, under other business I raised the question of Community logbooks. I received a firm assurance that the logbooks, which had now been distributed, would be in force from 1 April 1985.

This was an important Council meeting which led to a very satisfactory settlement for the United Kingdom and I am glad to report that it was warmly welcomed by the representatives of the fishing industry.