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Debate on reform of CFP
13/06/2002
The reform of the Common Fisheries Policy must provide
the right results for Scotland's fishing industry within
the framework of better stocks and a healthier marine
environment, Environment and Rural Development Minister
Ross Finnie said today.
Speaking during the Scottish Parliament's debate on
proposals to reform the Common Fisheries Policy, the
Minister for Environment and Rural Development said:
"European Commission proposals for reform of the Common
Fisheries Policy can be described as comprehensive, some
would say radical. They matter to Scotland for two reasons.
Firstly, with some seventy per cent of UK activity,
fisheries are important in Scotland with significant social
and economic implications.
"Secondly, it matters because fisheries will not survive
without healthy fish stocks, but most of the key stocks are
now outside safe biological limits.
"The Commission's proposals appear to support relative
stability, Hague preferences and the 12 mile zone. I
welcome this. Relative stability and Hague Preferences are
a key feature of the CFP and must remain so. I will argue
very strongly for the retention of this system.
"At a time when European fleet capacity is so far out of
line with the state of the stocks, providing subsidies for
some Member States to build bigger and better fishing
vessels is sheer lunacy and creates an unlevel playing
field.
"The Commission have stressed the need to tackle the
Europe-wide imbalance between fishing effort and fishing
opportunities. There has been much speculation about what
this might mean for the Scottish fleet. We cannot rule out
the need for some further effort reduction to ensure the
future of the stocks and the industry.
"Of course we are much better placed to address these
issues by virtue of having decided - 15 months ago - to
commit £25 million to our Scottish decommissioning scheme.
It will remove about 18% of the eligible fleet capacity.
That is, by any measure, a significant contribution and I
have made absolutely clear that the Commission must take
this into account.
"The Commission's proposal to establish Regional
Advisory Councils - comprising those fishermen who fish in
a given area, along with managers, scientists and NGOs - is
a further step in the right direction that was promoted by
our industry, and is supported by the Executive.
"This key review, twenty years after the start of the
Common Fisheries Policy, is an opportunity to put right a
policy that has clearly been wrong for some time. The
Executive's priority is to ensure a healthy future for our
fish stocks, our marine environment, and Scotland's fishing
industry."
The Scottish fishing industry has great significance in
purely economic terms. The landings into Scotland by all
vessels in 2000 were valued at almost £310 million and
Scottish boats landed nearly £70 million worth of fish
abroad.