§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will arrange to meet the leaders of the Scottish fishing industry to discuss in detail the recently announced total allowable catches for 1987 and their implication for the industry.
§ Mr. John MacKayI met industry representatives before I attended the meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers on 17 and 18 December 1986, at which the 1987 total allowable catches were agreed, during a convenient break in the course of the Council meeting and also immediately after that meeting. I am satisfied that the agreed total allowable catches strike the correct balance between the current needs of the industry and the protection of fish stocks for future years.
§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will arrange, as a matter of urgency, to meet the leaders of the fish processing industry in Scotland to discuss the impact on the economic future of that industry of the recently announced total allowable catches for 1987.
§ Mr. John MacKayI discussed this issue with representatives of the fish processing industry when I attended the annual dinner of the Scottish Fish Merchants' Federation on 12 December 1986. My officials also met representatives of the industry earlier that month.
I am well aware of the fish processors' concern about the reduced white fish quotas in 1987. It is, however, in the industry's long-term interests that steps should be taken now to conserve important fish stocks.