§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what he hopes to achieve at the next EC Council of Ministers meeting with regard to the fishing industry in general, and the inshore fleets in particular.
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§ Mr. Gummer[pursuant to his reply, 13 May 1988, c. 290]I represented the United Kingdom at the meeting of the Council of Fisheries Ministers in Luxembourg on 23–24 June.
The Council agreed an amendment to the marketing regulation which amongst other things provided for carry-over premiums to assist the private storage of herring and mackerel. This should facilitate smoother marketing of species of considerable importance to the United Kingdom industry. The Commission will also review the operation of the carry-over premium system for all species within the next two years. A widening of the margin of tolerance in the price at which herring and mackerel can be withdrawn from the market was agreed, which will also assist our industry. In addition, the new regulation limits the total amount of subsidy which can be paid in the tuna sector, where expenditure has been growing significantly.
The Council also agreed an amendment to the technical conservative regulation which reduces the minimum landing size of nephrops in the Irish sea and the seas of western Scotland to acceptable levels. The Council endorsed the requests of the United Kingdom and France for further scientific work to be undertaken before any action is taken to revise the technical conservation measures in respect of nephrops in the North sea and the Bay of Biscay. I again drew the Council's attention to the problem of the changing migratory pattern of western mackerel and warned that we may wish to return to the Council later to request flexibility in the fishing across the 4°W line should this prove to be necessary.
The Council had a first round of discussions on amendments to the control regulation which would facilitate better enforcement in the case of vessels landing in a member state other than its flag state. I explained the need for urgent action and the Council agreed to reach an early decision on this question. I pressed the Commission to make proposals as soon as possible, on the basis of the evidence we have given it, to increase the precautionary TACs for Channel cod and plaice, and the Commission undertook to consider this request urgently. This was a useful Council meeting in which progress was made on a number of issues of importance to the United Kingdom fishing industry.