2 Fisheries: catch quotas and effort limitation
2005
| (26217)
15237/04
COM(04) 785
| Draft Council Regulation fixing for 2005 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish vessels, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required
|
| Legal base | Article 37 EC; QMV
|
| Department | Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
|
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letters of 18 January, 9 February and 28 February 2005
|
| Previous Committee Report | HC 38-iv (2004-05), para 2 (19 January 2005)
|
| Discussed in Council | 21-22 December 2004
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | For debate in European Standing Committee A (decision reported on 19 January 2005)
|
Background
2.1 On 19 January 2005, we reported to the House on the proposals
which the Commission had put forward setting out the total allowable
catches (TACs) and quotas available to Community fishing vessels
under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in 2005. As we noted
then, these annual proposals habitually present scrutiny difficulties,
in that official texts are very often unavailable until after
the Council meeting at which decisions have to be taken, or are
(at best) too late to enable us to consider them properly beforehand.
A similar situation had arisen in this instance, in that the proposals
were not deposited in Parliament until 14 December 2004, with
the Government's Explanatory Memorandum not being prepared until
20 December (the day before the start of the Council meeting at
which decisions had to be taken). Consequently, notwithstanding
the motion on fisheries which the Government had arranged to be
debated on the Floor of the House on 2 December,[2]
we concluded that, since the House had had little opportunity
to question it on the outcome of the Council, there should be
an early debate on this in European Standing Committee A, alongside
a similar proposal relating to deep-sea species.[3]
At the same time, we asked to receive well before then a clear
indication of the ways in which the decisions taken by the Council
differed from the Commission's proposals.
The outcome of the Council
Minister's letter of 18 January 2005
2.2 Immediately following our meeting, we received a letter of
18 January 2005 from the Secretary of State for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs (Mrs Margaret Beckett), indicating that much
of the discussion at the Council had centred on the need for further
measures to protect depleted cod stocks, where the Commission
had proposed a series of closed areas in the North Sea. She said
that the Council was not convinced of the case for this, since
it believed that it would have a significant impact on the fishing
industry without clear conservation benefits. However, the Minister
added that the UK considers that closed areas do have a part to
play in fisheries management, and that it had indicated at the
Council that it would be willing to consider more radical measures,
including closed areas, if the scientific advice on the state
of stocks justified such an approach.
2.3 Among the measures which the Minister said the
Council did agree were:
- a general reduction in fishing
days within the North Sea, west of Scotland, and Eastern Channel
to protect cod stocks: however, in recognition of the role that
large-mesh gear plays in reducing catches of juvenile fish, it
was also agreed that fishermen using mesh of 120 mm[4]
should receive an extra day, subject to administrative sanctions
for infringements;
- that UK proposals for improved controls to ensure
that illegal landings do not undermine cod recovery, and for scientific
monitoring of discarding, should be implemented: this will be
followed early in 2005 by the presentation by the Commission of
detailed proposals;
- days at sea limits should be applied to the western
Channel to protect the sole stock, with fishermen using beam trawls
or fixed nets being restricted to 20 days fishing in the area
per month; and
- that an area to the West of Scotland closed to
demersal fishing (the 'windsock' closure) should continue in
the same form as in 2004.
2.4 The Minister also said that, for the sixth successive
year, there will be a closure on the western Irish Sea in the
spring to protect the spawning stock, and that the UK reached
a bilateral agreement with Ireland to take forward a review of
the Irish Sea closure with industry participation. Fishermen who
spend most of their time in the Irish Sea will receive one additional
fishing day (instead of two in 2004) in recognition of the reduction
in effort as a result of the closure. The Council also agreed
to implement a proposal from the UK, French and Irish industries
for a cod spawning closure in the area between south-west England
and Ireland from January to March. However, at the request of
Belgium, there will be a derogation for beam trawlers in January.
2.5 As regards TACs, the Minister provided five instances[5]
where she said that the UK had secured at the Council increases
for commercially important stocks where there was scientific evidence
that previous TACs were out of line with the real abundance of
the stock, and where fishermen had consequently been obliged to
discard catches unnecessarily with no conservation benefit. However,
as the decision taken by the Council in three of these cases appeared
not to differ from the Commission's original proposal, we asked
the Minister to clarify her comments, and also to identify all
the stocks of importance to the UK where the TAC proposed had
actually been increased by the Council. We also asked her to provide
further details, including information on the arrangements
made both for Community vessels in third country waters and international
waters regulated by regional fisheries organisations and for those
third countries which fish in Community waters, where the Explanatory
Memorandum provided by the Government on 20 December 2004 had
contained less information than usual.
Minister's letter of 9 February 2005
2.6 We next received a letter of 9 February 2005
from the Minister for Nature Conservation and Fisheries at the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Ben Bradshaw).
This pointed out that, in the case of the fishing arrangements
involving third countries, information had not been provided previously
because not all of these had been agreed at the time of the Secretary
of State's letter of 18 January, and that, even now, the Greenland
quotas had only recently been agreed, with talks between the Community
and Iceland still to take place.
2.7 The Minister's letter also contained other information,
but, as it failed to identify the increases which the Council
had made in the TACs proposed by the Commission, we asked him
to highlight these — a point which we felt had added relevance
in the light of his having failed in his letter to address our
earlier concern that the Secretary of State's letter of 18 January
to us, and her written Parliamentary answer[6]
about the outcome of the Council, had provided arguably misleading
information.
Minister's letter of 28 February 2005
2.8 We have now received a letter of 28 February
from the Minister, enclosing the further information we requested
about the increases made by the Council in the TACs proposed by
the Commission. This is now set out in Annex 2.1, whilst Annex
2.2 shows the fishing opportunities available to UK vessels in
Norwegian and Faroese waters. As regards our point about the way
in which the outcome of the Council was presented, the Minister
says:
"You commented in your letter that the Council
simply adopted the Commission's proposal for Western Channel sole,
western monkfish and west of Scotland nephrops. Whilst this is
true, the reason for the increase in the TACs for these stocks
compared to 2004 levels was as a result of intense and sustained
lobbying of the European Commission over a twelve month period."
Conclusion
2.9 Whilst we note this explanation above, we
feel bound to say that, whatever the intention, the Secretary
of State's account of the Council outcome conveys the impression
that all the increases she highlighted in the TACs had been made
by the Council, and that it is at best somewhat ambiguous.[7]
At this stage, we can do no more than draw this —
and the other information provided by the Government on the outcome
of the Council —
to the attention of the House in advance of the debate which is
to take place on this document (and on the TACs for deep sea stocks
in 2005 and 2006) on 8 March 2005.
ANNEX 2.1
TACs FOR 2005 WHERE THE COUNCIL OUTCOME
DIFFERS FROM THE PROPOSAL
(tonnes)
|
2004
|
Proposal |
Outcome |
% change 2004/05
|
| Herring |
| | | |
| Vb, VIaN, VIb | 29,340
| p.m. | 29,340
| 0 |
| Cod |
| | | |
| VIIa | 2,150
| 1,828 | 2,150
| 0 |
| Megrim |
| | | |
| IIa, IV | 1,890
| 1,512 | 1,740
| -8 |
| Anglerfish |
| | | |
IIa, IV | 7,000
| 7,000 | 10,314
| 47 |
| Vb, VI, XII, XIV | 3,180
| 3,180 | 4,686
| 47 |
| Lemon sole |
| | | |
IIa, IV
Nephrops
| 7,023 | 5,618
| 6,500 |
-8 |
| VII | 17,450
| 17,450 | 19,544
| 12 |
| Plaice |
| | | |
| VIId,e | 6,060
| 4,848 | 5,151
| -15 |
| VIIf,g | 560
| 448 | 476
| -15 |
| VIIh-k | 466
| 373 | 466
| 0 |
| Mackerel |
| | | |
| IIa, IIIa-d, IV | 21,381
| 18,872 | 17,067
| -20 |
| Sole |
| | | |
| II, IV | 17,000
| 16,070 | 18,320
| 8 |
| VIIfg | 1,050
| 840 | 1,000
| -5 |
| VIIh,j,k | 390
| 390 | 650
| 66 |
| Sprat |
| | | |
| IIa, IV | 238,000
| p.m. | 250,000
| 5 |
TACs are defined in terms of areas designated by
ICES. Those of most immediate relevance to the UK correspond
roughly to the following geographical regions:
Area II |
North Sea N of 62
|
Area IV |
North Sea S of 62
|
Area Vb |
Faroes
|
Area VI |
West of Scotland
|
Area VIIa |
Irish Sea
|
Area VIIb,c,h,j,k |
Western approaches
|
Area VII d, e |
English Channel
|
Area VIIfg |
Celtic Sea
|
Sources: Council Regulation, EM and Minister's letters.
ANNEX 2.2
TABLE OF UK QUOTAS IN
NORWEGIAN AND FAROESE WATERS
Location/Species
|
2004 Quota (tonnes)
|
2005 Quota (tonnes)
|
North Norway
|
|
|
Cod |
9,431
| 9,140
|
Haddock |
1,446
| 1,485
|
Saithe |
257
| 257 |
Redfish |
100
| 150 |
Greenland Halibut
|
50
| 50 |
Other species |
240 |
240 |
|
|
|
Faroe Islands
|
| |
Cod/haddock |
430
| 430 |
Saithe |
580
| 580 |
Redfish |
67
| 43 |
Blue ling/ling |
184 |
184 |
Blue Whiting |
7,040
| 7,040
|
Flatfish |
680
| 408 |
Other species |
180 |
180 |
Sources: Council Regulation, EM and Minister's letters.
2 Official Report, 2 December 2004, cols. 831-878. Back
3
(26191) 15390/04; see para 1 of this Report. Back
4
The Minister points out that the UK's mixed cod/haddock/whiting
fleet already uses 120 mm and will, therefore, continue to be
able to fish for 15 days per month as soon as the new arrangements
are in place. Back
5
These were Western Channel sole, western anglerfish, anglerkfish
in the North Sea and west of Scotland, west of Scotland nephrops
and Irish Sea nephrops. Back
6
Official Report, 24 January 2005, Cols 1W-3W. Back
7
The Secretary of State said "The UK (TACs) secured at the
Council a number of increases in Total Allowable Catches….",
and went on to highlight five examples of such increases. Back
|
