§ Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what controls applied to Scottish and Norwegian fishermen, respectively, in the herring fishery in the north and central North sea during 1985.
§ Mr. John MacKayScottish fishermen have been permitted to fish only in the European Community zone of the northern and central North sea this year. Their activities have been regulated by the relevant Community quota, conservation, control and marketing regulations. In addition, under United Kingdom fisheries legislation vessels over 10 m long require a North sea herring licence.
Norwegian herring fishermen also fished only in their own zone in 1985 and so were subject only to their domestic controls which include catch limits and conservation measures.
§ Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the European 566W Commission's proposal that 40 per cent. of the total allowable catch of herring from the northern and central sector of the North sea should be allocated to Norway for 1986.
§ Mr. John MacKayWe have made clear to the Commission that we are not wholly satisfied with the agreement negotiated with Norway, and have reserved our position on it. The Fisheries Council will consider the matter on 16 December.
§ Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average percentage share of the herring fishing in the northern and central sector of the North sea that was taken by Norway in the 10 years immediately before the closure of that fishery.
§ Mr. John MacKayPapers submitted to the International Council for the exploration of the sea herring assessment working group indicate that Norwegian catches of herring from the North sea in the period from 1967 to 1976 were about 36 per cent. by weight of the total catch by fishermen from Norway and European Community countries.