§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, if she will make it her policy to take steps to suspend the Sea Fish Conservation Act 1993, and replace it with the proposals put forward by the National Federation of Fisherman's Organisations; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. Jack(pursuant to his reply 25 November 1993 c.117): The High Court has now delivered its judgment on 732W the application for judicial review by the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations. The court noted that there is total agreement between the applicants and the Government that there is a need to prevent overfishing of certain stocks of sea fish by the United Kingdom fleet. Nevertheless, it decided to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. We are now urgently considering the implications of the judgment for days at sea and related policies, including decommissioning.