§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 21 January 1999,Official Report, column 573, on fishing industry initiatives, which organisations within the British fishing industry put forward proposals for (a) the introduction of fixed quota allocation, (b) the limiting to registration and licensing of fishing vessels to the declaration of maximum continuous 790W or permanently devoted engine power, (c) restrictive licensing for scallop dredging and (d) measures to assist the replacement or introduction of pelagic freezer trawlers. [68151]
§ Mr. MorleyAs I explained in the answer which I gave the hon. Member on 21 January 1999,Official Report, column 574, changes in a number of areas were prompted by concerns put forward from within the fishing industry, in some instances from fishermen themselves and in others from their representatives, and arose in the wide range of contacts I have with the industry. The measures on fixed quota allocations, scallop dredging licensing and pelagic freezer trawlers were the subject of public consultations and details of the responses are available from the Ministry's Library. The measures to link the registration and licensing of fishing vessels to the declaration of maximum continuous or permanently derated engine power, which are necessary to comply with EU obligations, were foreshadowed in the statement I made to the House on 17 December 1997, Official Report, column 228, and were discussed with industry as part of the review of fishing vessel licensing.