Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the impact of the weather conditions in the past two months on the fishing industry in Portavogie; what proposals he has for severe weather compensation for the fishing fleet; and if he will make a statement. [12515]
§ Mr. AncramIn November and December the total value of fish landed in Portavogie was lower than in recent past years, which is partly due to the reductions of vessels based at Portavogie of which 30 have been decommissioned since the UK introduced decommissioning schemes in 1993. However, the total value of landings in 1995 is only marginally less than that 75W in 1993 and is in keeping with an overall general decline in the value of landings at Portavogie. There are no plans to give severe weather compensation. The vagaries of the weather is one of the several factors which fishermen have to take into account in the evaluation of their operations on a longer-term basis.