§ Dr. Jack CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment. Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the decisions of the December 2003 EU Fisheries Council on(a) fishing in the Irish Sea, (b) fish landings in Whitehaven and (c) policy on designated ports; and if she will make a statement. [147448]
§ Mr. Bradshaw[holding answer 15 January 2004]: We agreed a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for Irish Sea cod of 2,150 tonnes (a 10 per cent. increase on the 2003 TAC that in fact represents a reduction in fishing effort). We agreed 20 per cent. cuts in the associated plaice and sole TACs, as opposed to the 47 per cent. and 34 per cent. cuts proposed by the Commission. A threefold increase in the haddock TAC will help to balance cuts, and a minimal cut in the nephrops TAC allows current catch levels to be maintained.
Landings in Whitehaven, mainly demersal species and shellfish from both UK and Irish vessels, are likely to reflect the above TAC changes.
The designated port arrangements for the United Kingdom will not be affected except that landings of North Sea haddock taken under the special conditions set out in Annex IV of Council Regulation 2287/2003 will be restricted to designated ports in Scotland and on the east coast of England.