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16/12/2003
Minister warns of stormy negotiations ahead
Speaking in Brussels before the opening of the annual December Agriculture and Fisheries Council tomorrow, Fisheries Minister, Ian Pearson has warned that the negotiations promised to be long and difficult but that he was determined to press the Northern Ireland case as hard as possible.
Effort control, a system of fisheries management restricting the number of days each month during which vessels may catch fish, was introduced at the 2002 December Fisheries Council for the North Sea and for West of Scotland waters.
The European Commission’s proposals for 2004, to be discussed at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels from 16 - 18 December, extends this regime to the Irish Sea, the Eastern and Western English Channel and to Iberian waters.
The proposal also reduces from 15 to 10 the number of days each month that whitefish trawlers would be allowed to fish.
Commenting on the potential changes, the Minister said: "I am aware that the Commission are very anxious to extend effort control into the Irish Sea, so restricting the number of days Northern Ireland fishermen will be allowed to leave port to catch fish. I do not believe that this is justified, and will be doing to my utmost to persuade the Commission of that view.
"The Irish Sea has already had four years of the Cod Recovery Plan, which involved a ten week closure each spring, and there are now signs that these measures are beginning to work. The cod stock in the Irish Sea is still smaller than desirable, but it is significantly larger than in the past two or three years, and certainly in better shape than this time last year.
"The Northern Ireland whitefish fleet is smaller than it was year ago, following the recent decommissioning scheme, and there will therefore be fewer vessels around next year fishing for cod and other white fish in the Irish Sea."
Ian Pearson is part of the UK Ministerial team at the Council, led by UK Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw MP, and Scottish Fisheries Minister, Ross Finnie MSP.
(MB)
Effort control, a system of fisheries management restricting the number of days each month during which vessels may catch fish, was introduced at the 2002 December Fisheries Council for the North Sea and for West of Scotland waters.
The European Commission’s proposals for 2004, to be discussed at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels from 16 - 18 December, extends this regime to the Irish Sea, the Eastern and Western English Channel and to Iberian waters.
The proposal also reduces from 15 to 10 the number of days each month that whitefish trawlers would be allowed to fish.
Commenting on the potential changes, the Minister said: "I am aware that the Commission are very anxious to extend effort control into the Irish Sea, so restricting the number of days Northern Ireland fishermen will be allowed to leave port to catch fish. I do not believe that this is justified, and will be doing to my utmost to persuade the Commission of that view.
"The Irish Sea has already had four years of the Cod Recovery Plan, which involved a ten week closure each spring, and there are now signs that these measures are beginning to work. The cod stock in the Irish Sea is still smaller than desirable, but it is significantly larger than in the past two or three years, and certainly in better shape than this time last year.
"The Northern Ireland whitefish fleet is smaller than it was year ago, following the recent decommissioning scheme, and there will therefore be fewer vessels around next year fishing for cod and other white fish in the Irish Sea."
Ian Pearson is part of the UK Ministerial team at the Council, led by UK Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw MP, and Scottish Fisheries Minister, Ross Finnie MSP.
(MB)
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