§ Mr. MarlandTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the outcome of the Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 20–21 June; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonTogether with my right hon. colleague, Lord Sanderson, Minister of State, Scottish Office, I attended the Council of Fisheries Ministers in Luxembourg on 21 June 1989.
We secured agreement to an important amendment to restriction on beam trawl lengths that would have applied on 1 July. This will assist our inshore beam fleet and allow them to continue their operations without incurring costly modification. This is most welcome.
We also secured in the negotiations a commitment from the Commission to review urgently this year's total allowable catch for Channel cod and other precautionary TAC's.
After a difficult discussion the Council adopted a regulation laying down common marketing standards for preserved sardines. I ensured that our traditional sardine pastes and pates could continue to be marketed to the benefit of consumers.
On quota-hopping, I stresed the Community-wide nature of the problem and expressed my hope that the Commissioner will come forward urgently with a Community solution. I received strong support from five other member states, and the Commissioner undertook to examine the problem and present the proposals to the Council. The Commissioner also undertook to ensure that in enforcing Community rules there would be no discrimination between member states.
As we requested last December, the Commission reported on recent scientific advice reviewing the TACs for 251W North sea cod and haddock. We have to accept that there is no case for increasing these this year if we are to safeguard the future of these stocks.