§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will match for the British industry the operating support given to the fishing industries of other EU countries. [156460]
§ Mr. MorleyI announced on 2 April a package of measures designed to meet the needs of the English fishing industry. Measures have similarly been announced by the devolved administrations.
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has had with(a) the fishing industry and (b) fish processors about the financial state of the industry and their need for public support. [156459]
§ Mr. MorleyI have personally met with representatives of both the fishing industry and the fish processing industry. I am therefore well aware of the position of all parts of the fisheries sector.
I have already made clear that I share the catchers' and processors' wish to see a sustainable industry which is economically profitable and which uses environmentally sustainable practices. The package of aid measures worth £22.5 million in England, which will inter alia provide financial assistance to help restructure the fishing industry and make grants available for innovation in the marketing and processing of fish, makes clear that the Government are ready to support and encourage the industry in pursuing these aims.
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proposals he has for decommissioning British fishing vessels; and when he intends to announce them. [156457]
§ Mr. MorleyI have already announced additional funding worth £6 million to help restructure the fishing industry. We will be consulting closely with the industry about the form that this assistance will take.
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§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the landing sites for fishing ports in order of value of landings. [157879]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 10 April 2001]: The values of landings of fresh and frozen fish by UK vessels in 1999 at the top 50 UK ports are set out in the table. Corresponding figures for 2000 are not yet available.
Major ports: value of fresh and frozen fish landed by UK vessels into UK ports during 1999 Port of landing Value (£ million) Peterhead 78.8 Fraserburgh 27.9 Aberdeen 26.2 Scrabster 19.6 Newlyn 17.1 Brixham 15.8 Mallaig 14.8 Lerwick 14.4 Kinlochbervie 13.2 Plymouth 10.7 Lochinver 10.4 Hull 10.3 Kilkeel 8.4 Ullapool 8.0 Grimsby 7.6 Portavogie 7.4 Lowestoft 7.3 Milford Haven 7.1 Eyemouth 5.3 Weymouth 5.0 Whitby 4.9 Scarborough 4.3 Fleetwood 4.2 Bridlington 4.1 Ardglass 3.7 Stornoway 3.6 Kirkcudbright 3.4 North Shields 3.2 Troon and Saltcoats 3.2 Pittenweem 2.8 Buckie 2.8 Scalloway 2.8 Shoreham 2.6 Oban 2.5 River Dart 2.5 Portsmouth 2.4 Looe 2.2 Whitehaven 2.2 Poole 2.1 Campbeltown 2.1 Blyth 2.0 River Fal—Falmouth 1.9 Wick 1.9 Lings Lynn 1.9 Amble 1.9 Kirkwall 1.8 Tarbert 1.8 Macduff 1.8 Padstow 1.7 Kyle 1.6 Total landings, all UK ports 463.7
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate the Government have made of the proportion of the overall EU fisheries resource accounted for by British territorial waters. [153369]
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§ Mr. Nick BrownIt is not possible to estimate the UK's share of the total EU fisheries resource occurring in British territorial waters. Fish movements are not determined by international boundaries. They also vary over time according to biological, environmental and other conditions. Furthermore, the ICES scientific assessments on which Total Allowable Catch decisions are based are provided in relation to the level of fish stocks within ICES rectangles. These include areas outside EU waters and do not take account of territorial waters.
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy in respect of the European Parliament's decision on(a) abolishing national control over fishing in coastal waters, (b) access to the North sea and (c) the Shetland and Irish boxes. [153237]
§ Mr. Nick BrownI assume that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the resolution which the European Parliament adopted on 17 January 2001 in relation to the Commission report on the consultations the Commission conducted throughout the EU in 1998–99 in preparation for the 2002 Review of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). This resolution is not binding on the Commission and Council. Nor does it call for the abolition of national control over over fishing in national waters but, rather, for maintenance of the status quo if there is any controversy over the future of the six to 12 mile limits. The text of the resolution if available in the Library of the House. As we have consistently made clear, we are confident that the six to 12 mile access restrictions will again be renewed in the forthcoming review of the CFP. We shall be arguing then for these access restrictions to be made permanent.
In the North sea, all the main commercial stocks are now subject to TACs with quotas allocated according to the principle of relative stability, which will continue to apply unless a qualified majority of the Council on the basis of a Commission proposal decides otherwise. There are no signs that this will happen. As a result, we do not expect to see new or increased access to the North sea after 2002.
Restrictions on access to the Irish Box are laid down in the western waters effort regime, which the Commission has confirmed will continue automatically beyond 2002.
The Shetland Box will be rolled over automatically beyond 2002 unless, on the basis of a Commission proposal and acting by qualified majority, the Council decides to make any changes. The Government are currently reviewing the effectiveness of the Box in terms of the objectives originally set for it and a way of clarifying the arguments for its continuation beyond 2002.
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of(a) fishermen, (b) vessels and (c) value of catch of the UK fishing fleet is (a) English and (b) Scottish. [157239]
§ Mr. MorleyThe available information is set out in the table.
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UK fishing fleet: Number of fishermen, vessels and value of catch (excludes Channel Isles and Isle of Man) England Percentage Scotland Percentage UK total Percentage At end 1999 Number of fishermen1 Regular 5,298 41 6,042 47 12,970 100 Part-time 933 31 1,288 43 2,991 100 Total 6,231 39 7,330 46 15,961 100 Number of fishing vessels 12 metre2 and under 3,341 54 1,833 30 6,151 100 Over 12 metre2 381 29 698 54 1,297 100 Total 3,722 50 2,531 34 4,778 100 Value of landings (£ million) 1999 184 31 345 59 588 100 1As at 31 March 2000 for England 2Based on registered length Source:
Classification by Department of Administration
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has made to the EU Commission about aid and support for the British fishing industry following the reduced fishing opportunities available under new quotas and the new instructions to protect cod and hake. [158434]
§ Mr. MorleyNone. We have announced a package of national measures within FIFG and support for regional assistance from the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has made to the European Commission about the compatibility with European law of the aid given to their national fishing industries by other EU Governments. [158436]
§ Mr. MorleyFollowing an announcement by the Commission of a formal investigation into state aid schemes in France and Spain, the Government wrote to the European Commission on 28 February setting out the UK's position on these aids.
In particular, we made clear our view that such aids should be considered incompatible with EU state aid guidelines as they distort competition in the fisheries sector and that paying operating subsidies prevents or delays the necessary restructuring of the least economic parts of the fleet. We understand the French aid scheme has been discontinued following Commission investigation.