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Fishing (Spanish and Dutch Ships)
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the amount of fish caught by (a) Spanish (b) Dutch flagged ships which is eventually marketed in the United Kingdom. [30370]
Mr. Baldry: Information on the amount of fish which is caught by such ships and which is eventually marketed in the United Kingdom is not available. In 1994 we estimate that Spanish and Dutch flagged ships landed about 2,150 and 2,200 tonnes of fish into the UK respectively. Some of this fish may subsequently have been exported.
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UK-registered Fishing Vessels
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate how many vessels previously registered in other EU member states are now registered as United Kingdom fishing vessels; and what estimate he has made of the annual tonnage of fish caught by vessels so registered for each of the last three years for which figures are available. [30369]
Mr. Baldry: Information on the number of current UK fishing vessels previously registered in other member states and the tonnage of fish which they have caught over the last three years is not available.
Under the UK merchant shipping regulations it is possible for vessels previously registered in other member states or third countries to be registered as fishing vessels in the UK. But such vessels would not be permitted to fish for profit without acquiring a licence from UK Fisheries Departments. Under our present restrictive licensing arrangements no new licences are granted and an owner wishing to fish with a vessel new to the UK fleet would need to obtain a licence from a previously licensed vessel.
Common Fisheries Policy
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the benefits assessed by his Department as accruing to the United Kingdom fishing fleet from the common fisheries policy. [30363]
Mr. Baldry: The benefits to the United Kingdom fishing industry flowing from the common fisheries policy include:
tighter restrictions than applied before we joined the Community on access by foreign vessels within our 12 mile fishery limits;
restrictions on access to areas such as the Shetland box and the Irish box;
a larger share of fish quotas in Community waters than was justified by our historic catch record in the 1973 to 1978 reference period used when quota shares were decided;
fishing opportunities in the waters of non-member states secured through the Community's bilateral agreements with those countries;
access to European Community grant schemes;
a co-ordinated policy to reduce the size of fleets of all member states;
a common policy on conservation rules enabling us to influence the rules applied in the waters of other member states to the benefit of our industry;
monitoring of enforcement standards in all member states by the European Commission.
Fishing (200-mile Limit)
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps would be required to regain control of the fishing effort within 200 miles of the United Kingdom coast. [30364]
Mr. Baldry: The United Kingdom has never exercised exclusive control over fishing effort within 200 miles of its coast. We would have to leave the common fisheries policy in order to do so; I explained to the House on
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22 November 1995 at column 591 the steps necessary for that to happen.
Fish Stocks
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of the enlargement of the EU on the viability of fish stocks in the North sea; [30372]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the measures under consideration to conserve pressure fish stocks in EU waters during the current negotiations leading to enlargement of the EU. [30371]
Mr. Baldry: Negotiations for the further enlargement of the European Union are not scheduled to start until after the conclusion of the intergovernmental conference. Any impact on fish stocks will depend on a number of factors including the terms and timing of accession by the countries concerned, developments in the industry and developments in fisheries policy within the European Union where measures currently under consideration to conserve stocks include further reduction in fishing effort, new technical conservation rules and improved enforcement measures.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) of 24 April, Official Report, column 209, on what date each animal was confirmed to have been suffering from BSE. [29410]
Mrs. Browning [holding answer 15 May 1996]: The following table gives the dates of birth of the 10 youngest cattle, including estimated ages, and the date at which BSE was confirmed:
| Date of birth | Date of BSE confirmation |
|---|---|
| Autumn 1986 | 31 January 1989 |
| January 1987 | 24 July 1989 |
| November 1987 | 28 November 1989 |
| Autumn 1987 | 11 May 1989 |
| Autumn 1987 | 22 November 1989 |
| Autumn 1987 | 26 March 1990 |
| May 1988 | 26 July 1990 |
| November 1988 | 26 March 1991 |
| June 1989 | 20 January 1992 |
| October 1990 | 20 May 1993 |
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many, and what percentage, of the maternal transmission test group study by the veterinary laboratory at Weybridge have been diagnosed as suffering from BSE. [29345]
Mrs. Browning [holding answer 15 May 1996]: Forty-seven or 7 per cent. of the 630 study animals have so far developed BSE.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what preliminary assessment he has made as to the most likely cause of BSE in those animals in the maternal transmission test group study by the veterinary laboratory at Weybridge that have been diagnosed as suffering from BSE. [29346]
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Mr. Browning [holding answer 15 May 1996]: The detailed cohort study into the possibility of maternal transmission of BSE will not be complete until early 1997. Some information about this experiment has been published in the progress report on BSE laid in the Library of the House in November 1995, but the result cannot be interpreted until it is complete. As the study is being carried out blind we do not know whether the 47 animals which have succumbed to BSE in the trial are offspring of BSE cases or whether they are control animals. The details of these animals are given in the table.
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| Period | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month and year of birth | July-December 1991 | January-June 1992 | July-December 1992 | January-June 1993 | July-December 1993 | January-June 1994 | July-December 1994 | January-June 1995 | July-December 1995 | Total |
| 1987 | ||||||||||
| September | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| October | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 2 |
| November | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| December | -- | 1 | 3 | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 5 |
| 1988 | ||||||||||
| January | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0 |
| February | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 2 |
| March | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 1 |
| April | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0 | |
| May | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| June | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 1 |
| July | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 1 |
| August | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| September | -- | -- | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | -- | 6 |
| October | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 | 2 | -- | -- | 1 | 6 |
| November | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 2 |
| December | -- | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | 4 |
| 1989 | ||||||||||
| January | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 1 |
| February | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0 |
| March | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 1 |
| April | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Grand total | 2 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 47 |
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Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the means of disposal for the remains of cattle aged 30 months or over following processing of carcasses at rendering plants as part of the scheme to eradicate bovine spongiform encephalopathy from British herds. [29654]
Mrs. Browning [holding answer 16 May 1996]: My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced in the House on 16 April, Official Report, col. 513 that, following the process of rendering, the resultant material would be disposed of by the best practicable environmental option. The Government are actively pursuing the ways and means of achieving this objective and a further statement will be made when conclusions have been reached.
Dr. Strang: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cattle were slaughtered in the United Kingdom under the 30-month scheme in the week beginning Monday 29 April. [28919]
Mr. Baldry [holding answer 20 May 1996]: One hundred cattle were slaughtered in the United Kingdom under the scheme in the week beginning 29 April.
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