§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many staff and what financial resources were devoted to fisheries protection and monitoring in Scotland and Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and if he will estimate the financial resources in each year as a proportion of the value of fish landed. [54459]
§ Mr. MorleyResponsibility for providing detailed information on the staff and financial resources devoted to fisheries enforcement and protection in Scotland and Northern Ireland rests respectively with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the proposal by the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations and the Scottish Fishermen's Federation for coastal zone management; and what definition of coastal fisheries limits he has used in assessing the proposal. [54579]
§ Mr. MorleyI have welcomed the joint position paper of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations and Scottish Fishermen's Federation as a good basis for discussion. Their paper contains a number of ideas including the concept of coastal state management whereby coastal states would be responsible for determining conservation rules within their 200 mile fisheries limits, subject to criteria established in zonal management committees whose proposals would be ratified by the Council of Ministers.