§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the devolution of greater control of fisheries management within the 12 mile limits of the UK to the UK Government, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. [64502]
§ Mr. MorleyThe United Kingdom Government has devolved fisheries management within the whole of the Scottish Fisheries Zone to the Scottish Executive. The National Assembly of Wales has assumed responsibility for the territorial sea off Wales and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for management of the territorial sea off Northern Ireland. In England the territorial sea remains the responsibility of Westminster. The 0–6 mile band off England and Wales continues to be managed by local authority Sea Fisheries Committees.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what her policy is on the Commission's proposal that there should be a 40 per cent. cut in the EU fishing fleet; [64538]
(2) if she will release the funds available from the EU for compensating UK fishermen when they are forced to reduce their effort through tie-ups and a reduction in days at sea. [64503]
§ Mr. MorleyWe recognise that EU fleets are too large and that what is needed is a permanent reduction in tonnage. We therefore believe that where further cuts are needed, the priority must be to decommission vessels rather than to tie them up temporarily. If we return to present levels of fishing effort once stocks have recovered, we will simply recreate current problems of overfishing.
We have not yet however had the opportunity to question the Commission about the detail of their calculations. Nonetheless, they have made clear that they do not seek to impose cuts in fleet capacity on Member States. Their figures which detail fleet cuts by Member States are to be taken as purely illustrative. It will be for Member States to decide what measures to introduce in response to the decisions taken by the Council on reducing fishing effort. The scale of decommissioning will also depend on the decisions taken by fishermen in the light of the impact of these measures. Fisheries Departments in the UK have however already been running decommissioning schemes this year and we would want these taken account of in any necessary reductions which are ultimately agreed.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she is taking to prevent the over—exploitation of fisheries in international waters and in the waters of third countries outside the EU where EU vessels are fishing. [64507]
§ Mr. MorleyWe shall press for the EU to adopt a more sustainable and responsible approach to international fisheries as part of the reform of the common fisheries policy. In particular we shall be seeking improvements to the way the EU negotiates fishing agreements with third countries, in order to ensure the sustainable management of stocks.
371W
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she intends to take to prevent the killing of dolphins and porpoises as a by—catch in UK waters. [64510]
§ Mr. MorleyDolphin and porpoise by-catch around the UK occurs in waters where vessels from other member states fish extensively, so action is required at EU level to resolve the problem. This is why I have been pressing the Commission to take action on this issue, particularly now that observations we have commissioned have demonstrated a dolphin by-catch problem in the pair trawl fishery for bass off south-west England. I was pleased to see recently that the Commission proposals for the reform of the CFP refer to the introduction by the end of 2002 of measures to reduce cetacean by-catch. We shall be looking for positive action on this in the course of the reform negotiations: we also intend to continue funding trials of adaptations to fishing gear that could reduce dolphin and porpoise by-catch.
§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy that no public aid will be used for building new vessels and modernising existing ones other than in the case of safety improvements and quality production. [64504]
§ Mr. MorleyIt is already Government policy that grants should not be paid for building new vessels or for modernisation that increases fishing effort. In the UK vessel grants are only paid for the adoption of sustainable catching methods and improvements to the quality of fish on board and working conditions.