Chris Davies (ALDE). - Mr President, it has taken us two and a half years to get here, but it was worth the wait. We have a policy which has been much criticised over the years and now it is one which I will be able to defend with pleasure –because at the heart of it is the determination to rebuild our fish stocks, as the Commissioner said, above maximum sustainable yield.

Of course it is a work in progress: there will be loopholes which will have to be closed; there will enforcement action that will be needed. But progress has already been made on the discards issue, which the Commissioner pushed very hard personally.

At one time fishermen were saying it could not be done and now, on a daily basis, we hear of new techniques being developed to reduce by-catch. I think the Commissioner and our rapporteur deserve our thanks. Between them they have given a better future for the fish in Europeʼs seas and for our fishing industry.