§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent measures she has taken, and what further measures she plans to take, to preserve cod stocks. [10616]
§ Margaret Beckett[holding answer 26 October 2001]: The United Kingdom has played a full part with the Commission and the other member states concerned in developing the second stage of the cod recovery programme for the North sea and west of Scotland. These revised requirements come into force from 1 January 2002. The UK fishing industry has also been involved closely with the process.
We stand ready to play a similar part in taking forward the Irish sea cod recovery programme on which we expect a proposal from the Commission, shortly, for a repeat of the spring spawning closure. We also expect the Commission to bring forward additional ideas to progress the recovery plan for the northern hake stock.