§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect on stocks of cod of the cut in the North Sea quota. [107476]
§ Mr. MorleyThe total allowable catch (TAC) of 81,000 tonnes agreed for 2,000 takes account of scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) that the stock is currently outside safe biological limits and that fishing mortality should be reduced to prevent further decline in the Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) in the short term. The ICES advice indicates that the maximum catch limit agreed provides a high probability that the SSB will increase to above the precautionary reference level of 150,000 tonnes over the next few years.
§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect on stocks of coley of the quota cuts of the last five years. [107475]
§ Mr. MorleyThe table shows the total allowable catches (TACs) for North Sea and West of Scotland saithe (coley) over the last five years.
578W
Tonnes North Sea West of Scotland 1996 111,000 13,000 1997 115,000 12,000 1998 97,000 10,900 1999 110,000 7,500 2000 85,000 7,000 It can be seen that the North Sea TAC has moved up and down, while the West of Scotland TAC has steadily declined, reflecting scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea on the state of the stock. The reductions agreed for 2000 take account of advice from ICES that the combined saithe stock is outside safe biological limits and that fishing mortality should be reduced to prevent further decline in the Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) in the short term. The reduced TACs will help ensure that the SSB increases to more sustainable levels over the medium term.