| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Curry: Before the hon. Gentleman intervenes, I hasten to point out that that would have to be done on a Europewide basis. I do not recant what I did as Fisheries Minister: I made a serious attempt to get to grips with the problem of conservation and I accept that the fact that it was not done on a Europewide basis was at the heart of the problems we experienced. It has to be done on a Europewide basis if we are to maintain a common framework; a Europewide move is probable, because I do not see this or any future Government deciding to risk political capital by trying to withdraw from the CFP.
Mr. Mitchell: It is interesting to see that, in his reincarnation as fisheries spokesman, the right hon. Gentleman has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing. The problem with the days at sea limitation was that it applied only in this country and did not apply to our competitors,
who were therefore free to take our fish. In addition, there was no financing of the lay-up period--why should fishermen lay up their boats without compensation when farmers get compensation for set-aside land?
Mr. Curry: I anticipated the first part of the hon. Gentleman's remarks and have already answered that point. He will recall that, in any case, many of the days at sea controls limited fishermen to no more than the actual period they already spent at sea.
Neither of the two routes I have described will work any better than the existing policy if the industry is deeply antagonistic to the controls. Technical conservation measures can operate only if the industry co-operates and perceives them as being in its own interest. The prerequisite has to be getting to grips with overcapacity through a fairly big-hit decommissioning scheme. That might well be followed by the introduction of more market mechanisms, for example, tradeable days at sea backed by technical conservation measures. Some of the measures, such as the closure of spawning grounds, seemed to work in the Norwegian fishery and were highlighted by the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations in its most recent publication. That might give us the opportunity for rationalisation, once a step reduction had been taken, to be pursued internally in the industry.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mr. Elliot Morley):
I congratulate the hon. Member for St. Ives (Mr. George) on obtaining the debate and on his sensible and mature speech on the fishing industry. His predecessor was well known for taking a view on the industry that often cut across party lines, because he argued for the needs of his local industry. The current hon. Member for St. Ives is continuing that tradition by advancing a well-reasoned case relating both to his own industry and to the future of the British industry after 2002.
My hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) made an eloquent case for her own fishing industry and the regional needs of Fleetwood. I have met the hon. Lady and delegates from her local authority to talk about their port and their needs. That underlines the regional dimension of the fisheries industry in this country and the importance of regional ports such as Fleetwood.
The hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr. Gill) is consistent--that much is certain--but he is wrong on certain aspects of his assumptions. What exercises him and other
hon. Members who share his views is their interpretation of what may or may not happen in relation to a future treaty in general and the common fisheries policy in particular. He is wrong about equal access, although he is right to say that that is enshrined within the CFP. He knows that I have argued that it is inconsistent and illogical in relation to the way in which the CFP operates.
My reason for arguing this--I have not changed my opinion at all--is that we now have the idea of relative stability, which has emerged over the years and is accepted by the Commission and by all member states. Under regulation 3760/92, the Commission has to produce a report by 31 December 2001--a report on changes to the common fisheries policy. But the principle of relative stability can be changed only by qualified majority voting by member states. If there is no agreement, it will continue in place automatically after 2002.
The President of the Commission, at the request of our Prime Minister, clearly stated in an exchange of letters:
I still believe the hon. Member for Ludlow to be wrong, but I respect the fact that he has been consistent. Of all the so-called Euro-sceptics, he is the only one who has continued to show an interest in the fishing industry; he has made a valuable contribution to our debates. But his interpretation is wrong, and so is his approach.
The hon. Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) said that the Scottish pelagic fleet has to obtain east coast and west coast licences, and has to call into port to get them. His point is well worth considering. The hon. Gentleman must know the reason for the process: the measure was introduced because of widespread misreporting. In other words, it was an enforcement measure. Any administrative problems to which it may give rise--the hon. Gentleman mentioned steaming into port only to find the office closed--should certainly be looked at, to see whether improvements can be found.
Mr. Salmond:
Will the Parliamentary Secretary acknowledge that there must be a better way to proceed than sending fishing boats, in a climate of cost pressure, on trips merely to pick up pieces of paper? Will he at least undertake to consider the issue to see whether it can be resolved more satisfactorily?
Mr. Morley:
I will certainly undertake to do so.I simply remind the hon. Gentleman that this was an enforcement measure to deal with what has been a serious problem.
The hon. Member for St. Ives is quite right to look ahead to 2002 and right to emphasise the importance of his home port, and how it will be affected. His port specialises in low volumes of high-value fish. There is a lesson to be drawn from that for the whole fishing industry: concentrate on quality and price, not on volume. That is a more sustainable way ahead.
I also acknowledge that the inshore industry is highly selective. I recently met the sea fisheries committees at their annual meeting; I believe that they have an important role to play in local fisheries management.
My hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby(Mr. Mitchell) has also been consistent in his opposition to the common fisheries policy. I must concede that much of his criticism is spot on. There are serious failings in the policy--no one could disagree with that--but there is also a need for a pan-European fisheries management policy to look after fish stocks. The Falkland Islands offer a good example of the need for wider fisheries management. The zone to the north of the islands is in international waters and squid stocks are overfished there; that impinges on the whole Falklands fishery area,and it shows the necessity of international fisheries management.
Unilateral withdrawal from the common fisheries policy of the kind for which some people argue is not a realistic or tenable option, as I think my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby will concede. That is my sincere belief. We need to concentrate instead on reforming the CFP. I believe that we can achieve that and are achieving it. The CFP is being reformed. Regional groups have been set up to cater for the desire for a more regional approach. As for a more general strategy, I shall deal shortly with how the Government see the way ahead.
My hon. Friend the Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Ms Atherton) discussed the dredging of scallops and the need for conservation measures for our inshore fleet. She has talked to me before about the needs of her fishing industry, on whose behalf she has been a strong advocate. I can only assure her that we will make it a priority to resolve this outstanding issue.
The Government's objectives are, first, to strengthen the economic benefits that countries derive from their national quotas. The moves we made at Amsterdam were designed to that end. We did not come back claiming a huge victory in respect of quota hoppers, and I willingly concede that the industry is disappointed with the deal that we struck. That is probably because the industry's expectations were built up to unrealistic levels by the previous Government. What we achieved, however, was realistic. It will bring benefits to fishing communities, and it will act as a disincentive to the fishing vessels that rarely call into United Kingdom ports. Most of all, our deal kept economic benefits at the top of the list of priorities.
Secondly, we need effective controls on fishing efforts. Here there are various options, among which days at sea measures are only one. We do not want to go for the sort of scheme that the Conservative Government advocated and the fishing industry fiercely resisted. That is not to say that there is no place for some sort of effort control of that type, but we want to discuss that with the industry and ensure that it is workable. We have made it clear that fisheries enforcement policy will involve tough decisions in the end. The Government are prepared to take tough decisions in the cause of conserving stocks.
"The key elements of the common fisheries policy are widely valued, and as the Commission has already stated, it seems unlikely that the fundamental principle of relative stability will be called into question, or that there will be a desire to modify present restrictions on access to waters inside Member States' 12 mile limits."
We see relative stability as a key component of the common fisheries policy and its successor.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |