Examination of Witnesses (Questions 300-303)
MR ROSS
FINNIE SMP, MR
DAVID WILSON
AND MS
BARBARA STRATHERN
17 JANUARY 2005
Q300 Chairman: The criteria to be used
would be essentially and basically scientific?
Mr Finnie: Absolutely.
Q301 Chairman: As a lead-in to David's
wider question, if the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's
recommendations to have great big boxes from which commercial
fishing would be excluded was under serious consideration, the
fact is we could not do it because it would have to be an agreed
European measure, is that correct?
Mr Finnie: Yes. We could not unilaterally
decide simply to have those areas stopped, from a fishing point
of view, at rather an artificial boundary of UK limits. As I understand
it, fish have a degree of intelligence but it does not include
knowing where international boundaries begin or end and that is
leading into my answer to this. Given that all of our stocks spawn
in different international waters and swim in different international
waters, I very firmly believe that the correct approach to the
conservation of a marine biological resource, if it was properly
managed, ought to be at a European level because it is not at
our hand to determine where all of these fish can swim in the
sea and if we are serious about conservation then we need a better
framework to ensure that all of the relevant parties are party
to that agreement.
Q302 Chairman: You could establish marine
protected areas within the 12.
Mr Finnie: Yes, you could, but
it would be interesting to know whether the scientific evidence
suggested that they should simply stop at that rather artificial
boundary.
Q303 David Burnside: I do not know if
the Minister agrees with me but devolution should represent the
regional interests of the devolved parts of the United Kingdom
where that devolved assembly or parliament is sitting and governing
with its devolved responsibilities. Could the Minister give the
Committee some view of his opinion of the strength of feeling
and support in the Scottish Parliament, Scottish public, Scottish
press, for a regaining of the sovereign rights of the United Kingdom
which were transferred to the European Union? I have expressed
my personal view. It seems to me that we are arguing on the fringes
on the management of a system that is fundamentally flawed. What
support is there in Scotland to retake fishing back into the hands
of the United Kingdom Government and Parliament and whatever devolved
assemblies and parliaments may exist around the United Kingdom?
Mr Finnie: I do not know the answer
to that question because it is not one that has ever been put
in any proper form of referendum. What I do know is that two parties
within the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish National Party and
the Conservative Party in this Parliament, are very much in favour
of that position. I am not. It depends on how you put the question.
They put that question in their campaigning in the lead-up to
December that all you had to do was to change the ownership and
all would be well but I am bound to say it does not seem to me
that that is going to make any difference to the scientific evidence
on the fact that cod stocks are below their biological safe limit.
If the Scottish fishing industry has suffered economically over
the last four years, it has done so largely on account of the
fact that a major stock has been found scientifically to be below
its safe biological limit and I do not think that you can adduce
an argument that suggests that it has purely been at the behest
of the Common Fisheries Policy that has brought that about. I
do not think we are going to agree on that. As to the public,
I do not think there has ever been a fully informed and advised
debate on it. There are political positions that are very well
known and well understood and these are split within the present
Scottish Parliament.
Chairman: Thank you very much. It is
as well to end the session there because otherwise we would have
an extensive row over Europe and it is not let wretches hang that
jurymen may dine, it is let Europe hang that jurymen may dine.
Minister, we are very grateful to you and to your staff for attending
and answering our questions, giving us such comprehensive coverage
of the Scottish situation and how you see things here in Scotland.
We are very grateful indeed, thank you very much.
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