§ Mr. HayesTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the recorded(a) proportion and (b) tonnage was of fisheries discards in UK waters in each of the last five years. [103692]
§ Mr. MorleyUK fisheries laboratories send observers to sea to record the quantity of fish discarded and retained by fishing vessels. Systematic data over five years for a representative sample of the UK fleet is only available for some fisheries. The tables show estimates for the proportion of catch discarded of cod, haddock, and whiting and total discarding of these species by the UK fleet in the North Sea. These estimates are obtained by raising the observer data to the total number of recorded days-at-sea.
(a) Percentage of catch discarded (by weight) Species 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 England Cod 15 17 16 13 25 Haddock 21 14 41 40 9 Whiting 44 61 53 63 41 Scotland Cod 23 12 17 23 9 Haddock 38 41 52 75 46 Whiting 35 48 49 46 52
(b) Discard estimates (in tonnes) Species 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 England Cod 9,649 4,464 582 1,451 1,335 Haddock 1,867 1,801 3,448 4,061 1,112 Whiting 6,602 9,204 667 7,867 2,808 Scotland Cod 10,287 2,991 4,141 4,440 1,519 Haddock 35,134 35,270 39,745 86,297 32,196 Whiting 8,861 15,563 16,211 8,869 8,315
§ Annabelle EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the No. 10 Strategic Policy Unit Paper on a strategy for the fishing industry for the next 5–10 years which was commissioned in January will be published. [103958]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 20 March 2003]: On 27 March I announced that the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit had begun work to develop a strategy for a sustainable UK fishing industry over the next 5–10 years. Further information can be found on the Strategy Unit website http://www.strategy.gov.uk.
A consultation document will be published in the next few months with the final report due for completion by the end of the year.