§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list those areas of fisheries policy she has so far identified where her Department has responsibilities towards achieving the objectives of the United Kingdom biodiversity national action plan; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. JackIn making fisheries policy, Ministers take account of the objectives for conserving biodiversity which are set out in the United Kingdom biodiversity national action plan.
385WWhile EC fisheries policy is based on the sustainable exploitation of fish stocks for commercial—human consumption—reasons, less emphasis has been given to the impact of fishing on other species and on the marine environment. During our presidency of the EC at the end of 1992, the basic EC regulation governing the common fisheries policy was amended to include a clear obligation that the CFP must provide for rational and responsible exploitation on a sustainable basis taking account of implications for the marine eco-system.
Subsequently, at the December 1993 Fisheries Council I pressed for a re-examination of the industry fishing problem. As a result, the Commission is establishing a working group of marine ecologists and fisheries biologists to study the implications for the marine ecosystem of fishing in general and industrial fishing in particular.
Wherever appropriate the United Kingdom introduces national conservation measures in addition to those applicable throughout the EC. Most recently fishing for nephrops with twin-rig trawls has been restricted to help improve conservation of this species. The United Kingdom Fisheries Departments currently undertake research to discover what, if any, long-term effects heavy fishing gear including beam trawls have on the sea bed and its benthic communities.
It is clear that fishing effort should be reduced against many of the stocks around our shores, as elsewhere in the EC. To this end, the Government announced a package of conservation measures in February 1992. These included various changes to the licensing regime, a £25 million decommissioning scheme and restrictions on time at sea. Since then, license changes have been implemented and the first round of decommissioning has removed approximately 5,000 tonnes of fleet capacity, but the time at sea element of the package has been suspended pending a ruling by the ECJ. The industry's view is that technical conservation measures could play a much more significant role, and we are discussing its proposals with it.
Bread wheat Milling wheat Feed wheat Feed barley Average 1992–93 marketing year12 142.60 125.50 119.30 113.00 Week-ending 24 February 19941 114.30 100.40 99.10 103.20 1 Source: Home Grown Cereals Authority. 2 Ex-farm prices for the week ending 24 February 1994 reflect a reduction in prices this year as against 1993 as a result of CAP reform. 3Source: European Commission. 4 The first payments under the arable area payments scheme will fall under the 1994 EC budget. 5 Includes set-aside payments for oilseeds and proteins as costs for the individual elements are not available.