§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the impact of the quota settlement for 2001 agreed between EU Fisheries Ministers in December, upon(a) each fish stock, (b) the overall economic future of the UK fishing industry and (c) the economic future for members of each UK producer organisation. [144271]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 8 January 2001]: Most of the total allowable catches agreed by the Fisheries Ministers on December 15 last year reflect closely the advice from scientists. We would therefore expect these stocks to move towards or remain inside safe biological limits over the period to which the advice refers.
The immediate economic effect of the quota reductions will vary according to the extent to which fishermen are able to catch their quota allocations. In some cases the quotas for 2001 are higher than catches in 2000. The purpose of the quota cuts and other measures being adopted is to conserve stocks in the longer term and so protect the economic future of the industry.
137WWe are discussing the implications of the situation with the industry.
§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what funding the Government have provided as state aid support to the United Kingdom fishing industry in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [146273]
§ Mr. MorleyThe figures shown include expenditure on national schemes and the national element of payments under EU schemes.
They include funding by the four Fisheries Departments, both before and after devolution. The largest element of the expenditure has been the scheme for decommissioning fishing vessels, which ended in 1997–98.
Year £ million 1995–96 12.75 1996–97 10.75 1997–98 13.78 1998–99 6.14 1999–2000 3.85