9 Management plan for plaice and sole
in the North Sea
| (27216)
5403/06
COM(05) 714
| Draft Council Regulation establishing a management plan for fisheries exploiting stocks of plaice and sole in the North Sea
|
| Legal base | Article 37EC; consultation; QMV
|
| Department | Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 26 March 2007
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| Previous Committee Report | HC 34-xviii (2005-06), para 4 (8 February 2006) and HC 34-xxix (2005-06), para 1 (17 May 2006)
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| To be discussed in Council | April 2007
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared
|
Background
9.1 For those stocks held to be at particular risk of over-exploitation,
the Community has in recent years adopted, over and above the
usual range of measures limiting catches and effort, a number
of specific conservation management plans, aimed at reducing the
level of fishing mortality. In January 2006, the Commission put
forward the current document, which sets out such a plan, covering
the plaice and sole stocks in the North Sea.
9.2 As we first noted in our Report of 8 February
2006, the Government has accepted the need to reduce fishing mortality
in these fisheries, and it has also pointed out that, although
UK beam trawlers fishing in the southern North Sea would be affected
by the proposal, the majority are in fact Dutch owned, and based
in the Netherlands. However, their by-catches also include North
Sea cod, and it was unclear how the recovery plan for that stock
and the one now proposed for plaice and sole would operate alongside
each other. Since this was an issue which the Government had said
it would be studying further, we said that we would reserve
judgement, and continue to hold the document under scrutiny in
the meantime.
9.3 We subsequently received from the Minister for
Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare at the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr Ben Bradshaw) a supplementary
Explanatory Memorandum of 15 May 2006, enclosing a Regulatory
Impact Assessment, which confirmed that the impact of the measure
on the UK was likely to be relatively small. The Assessment also
said that, although it remained unclear how far the restrictions
proposed would be additional to those already imposed under the
cod recovery plan, the Commission's proposal would in the long
term be expected to lead to a large, robust stock and to less
need for sudden management action. In our Report of 17 May 2006,
we noted that it was clear that uncertainties still remained over
how the measures proposed would relate to those already in force
for cod, and that, although the UK supported the proposal in principle,
it believed that it needed to be considered in the light of the
wider debate planned on long-term fisheries management. We therefore
thought it right to continue to hold the present document under
scrutiny, pending further developments.
Minister's letter of 26 March 2007
9.4 We have now received from the Minister a letter
of 26 March 2007, indicating that, as a result of further discussion,
the Council is now close to agreement on a text. He also says
that, although the Commission has continued to argue that it will
not take decisions in one area to the detriment of another (and
that there is hence no need to write such a clause into the proposed
Regulation), it has agreed to a statement confirming its powers
to go beyond what is required in the plan itself to ensure the
success of the cod recovery plan. The Minister adds that, in view
of this, the UK is now prepared to support the measure, which
is expected to go forward for adoption as an A point[16]
at the Council next month.
Conclusion
9.5 In view of the latest information provided
by the Minister, we are now clearing this document.
16 Without further discussion. Back
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