§ Mr. SykesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the economic impact of cheap fish imported from non-EEC countries on the livelihoods of east coast fishermen. [24153]
§ Mr. JackNo specific assessment has been made in relation to the situation on the east coast of England, but last year's broad-based analysis by the European Commission indicated that underlying structural problems rather than non-EU imports were responsible for the generally depressed state of the fish market within the European Union. The EU market depends increasingly on imports for its supplies and fish processors in particular depend heavily on imported raw material because their needs cannot be met from EU resources.