§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his letter to the hon. Member for Linlithgow of 15 October, what progress has been made in addressing the problem of cetacean bycatch in the context of the Community's strategy for integrating environmental concerns into the Common Fisheries Policy. [138533]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Community's strategy for integrating environmental concerns into the Common Fisheries Policy will be developed under the Swedish Presidency with a view to its adoption by the European Council in June.
A joint MAFF/DETR strategy on the conservation of the harbour porpoise was launched at the meeting of parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS) from 26–28 July. It is intended that this should be extended to cover all small cetaceans. Further, 404W ASCOBANS agreed on reductions in the bycatch limit from 2 per cent. to 1.7 per cent. of the estimated small cetacean populations.