HL Deb 13 January 1999 vol 596 cc74-7WA
Lord Graham of Edmonton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the outcome of the Fisheries Council held in Brussels on 17 and 18 December 1998. [HL405]

The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue)

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary (Commons) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food represented the United Kingdom at a meeting of the EU Fisheries Council in Brussels on 17 and 18 December. My noble friends Lord Sewel, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Scottish Office, and Lord Dubs, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office, were also present.

The Council agreed unanimously, with Italy abstaining, the total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas to apply in 1999 in Community waters. Details of the final TACs are in the following table. In some cases there are significant reductions compared with 1998; in other cases, the final figures are higher than the Commission's proposals or the 1998 TACs; in all cases, the UK sought a balance between the need to be cautious in the management of stocks for their long-term benefit and the need to take account of the practical realities for fishermen and short-term socio-economic pressures on them. At the end of the negotiations, the total UK quotas agreed were some 57,000 tonnes higher in cod equivalent terms than the quotas being discussed at the start of the negotiations. This increase is worth some £30 million to the industry, although overall there has been a net year-on-year reduction in fishing opportunities in order to conserve stocks for the future.

My honourable friend invoked the Hague Preference on all the stocks where it was necessary to do so.

A particularly welcome part of the package was the securing of additional quota to catch haddock in the Irish Sea, reflecting the upsurge of fish in this area. As a result of close co-operation with the Irish Republic, we secured an additional 2,400 tonnes of quota for UK Irish sea fishermen which will be especially beneficial in Northern Ireland.

We were also very pleased to secure as part of the package the separation of the small Shetland coastal sandeel fishery from the North Sea sandeel TAC and helpful Commission statements on two UK initiatives: a Commission commitment to propose the introduction of a new TAC for dogfish and a commitment to respond to concern about the effects of sandeel fishing on birds and other wildlife.

Separately from the main TACs package, the Council agreed by qualified majority, with Italy and Greece opposed, 1999 TACs for bluefin tuna and swordfish. These retain small unallocated quotas to cover incidental by-catches by the UK and other northern countries.

The Council agreed unanimously to 18 regulations covering 1999 international fisheries arrangements: between the Community and Norway, Faroes, Greenland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Russia; and under the North West Atlantic Fisheries Organisation and the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission. These all reflected negotiations completed in the previous weeks and, in cases where the UK has a direct interest, safeguarded that interest.

Following the substantial progress made at its last meeting, the Council unanimously adopted a regulation amending fisheries control and enforcement rules. These will strengthen control arrangements throughout the fisheries sector in line with UK objectives, including more effective monitoring of third country vessels, improved transparency of enforcement activity, increased co-operation among member states and reinforcement of the UK's national rules on designated ports.

The Council agreed by qualified majority, with Belgium, France and Spain voting against, some limited amendments to 1998 autonomous tariff quotas and tariff suspensions for 1999. These measures help to maintain the competitiveness of the processing industry by giving them access, at reduced rates of duty, to raw material that Community fishermen cannot supply.

Stock 1998 TAC (tonnes) 1999 TAC (tonnes) Gain/Loss %
Sandeels IIa, IV 1,000,000 1,000,000 0
Herring I, II 1,300,000 1,300,000 0
Herring IVa, b 229,000 240,000 5
Herring IVc, VIId 25,000 25,000 0
Herring Vb, VIaN, VIb 80,370 68,000 -15
Herring VIa (Clyde) 1,000 1,000 0
Herring VIIa 9,000 6,600 -27
Herring VIIe, f 1,000 1,000 0
Herring VIIg—k 22,200 21,000 -5
Herring IIa, IV Ind. by-catch 22,000 30,000 36
Cod IIa, IV 140,000 132,400 -5
Cod Vb, VI, XII, XIV 11,000 11,800 7
Cod VIIa 7,100 5,500 -23
Cod VIIb—k, VIII, IX, X 20,000 19,000 -5
Megrim IIa, IV 3,000 3,000 0
Megrim Vb, VI, XII, XIV 4,840 4,840 0
Megrim VII 22,400 22,400 0
Dab & Flounder IIa, IV 30,070 30,070 0
Anglers IIa, IV 22,070 22,070 0
Anglers Vb, VI, XII, XIV 8,600 8,600 0
Anglers VII 26,670 26,670 0
Haddock IIa, IV 115,000 88,550 -23
Haddock Vb, VI, XII, XIV 25,700 19,000 -26
Haddock VII, VIII, IX, X 20,000 22,000 10
Haddock VIIa 0 5,000 —
Whiting IIa, IV 60,000 44,000 -27
Whiting Vb, VI, XII, XIV 9,000 6,300 -30
Whiting VIIa 5,000 4,400 -12
Whiting VIIb—k 27,000 25,000 -7
Hake IIa, IV 2,070 1,930 -7
Hake Vb, VI, VII, XII, XIV 33,160 30,910 -7
Lemon sole & witch IIa, IV 12,000 12,000 0
Blue whiting IIa NS 90,000 90,000 0
Nephrops IIa, IV 15,200 15,200 0
Nephrops Vb, VI 12,600 12,600 0

Stock 1998 TAC (tonnes) 1999 TAC (tonnes) Gain/Loss %
Nephrops VII 23,000 23,000 0
Plaice IIa, IV 87,000 102,000 17
Plaice Vb, VI, XII, XIV 2,400 2,400 0
Plaice VIIa 2,400 2,400 0
Plaice VIId, e 5,700 7,400 30
Plaice VIIf, g 1,100 900 -18
Plaice VIIh, j, k 1,350 1,350 0
Pollack Vb, VI, XII, XIV 1,100 1,100 0
Pollack VII 17,000 17,000 0
Saithe IIa, IIIb, c, d, IV 97,000 110,000 13
Saithe Vb, VI, XII, XIV 10,900 7,500 -31
Saithe VII, VIII, IX, X 8,800 8,800 0
Turbot & brill IIa, IV 9,000 9,000 0
Skates & rays IIa, IV 6,060 6,060 0
Mackerel IIa(EC), III, IV 62,455 62,455 0
Mackerel IIa (nonEC), Vb, VI, VII, VIIIa, b, d, e, XII, XIV 422,160 422,160 0
Sole II, IV 19,100 22,000 15
Sole Vb, VI, XII, XIV 155 155 0
Sole VIIa 900 900 0
Sole VIId 5,230 4,700 -10
Sole VIIe 670 700 4
Sole VIIf, g 850 960 13
Sole VIIh, j, k 720 720 0
Sprat IIa, IV 150,000 175,000 17
Sprat VIId, e 12,000 12,000 0
Horse mackerel IIa, IV 60,000 60,000 0
Horse mackerel Vb, VI, VII, VIIIa, b, d, e, XII, XIV 320,000 265,000 -17