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Verbatim report of proceedings
Wednesday, 25 October 2000 - Strasbourg OJ edition

14. Cod stocks in the Irish Sea
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  President. – The next item is the report (A5-0276/2000) by Mr Nicholson, on behalf of the Committee on Fisheries, on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing additional technical measures for the recovery of the stock of cod in the Irish Sea (ICES Division VIIa)(COM(2000) 190 – C5-0219/2000 – 2000/0071(CNS)).

 
  
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  Nicholson (PPE-DE), rapporteur. – Madam President, when I first started to consider drafting this report, I wondered whether it was a wise decision for any politician from Northern Ireland to agree to bring forward a report on Box VIIa in the Irish Sea. However, I believe that in politics you have to take on board some of the more positive aspects of life. While this may have been a poisoned chalice initially, I hope that ultimately, I, Parliament and the Commission can together develop something that will be very positive and fruitful for the fishermen who depend on fishing in the Irish Sea.

The report is designed to protect juvenile cod in the Irish Sea. We have to make it very clear that it is not just designed to protect juvenile cod but also to protect many other species in the Irish Sea. That is important. The other species in the Irish Sea will also benefit from this protection.

From that point of view, the one thing that has changed dramatically in recent times is that there is a growing understanding that such protection is necessary. Perhaps five years ago if you told fishermen in that particular area that there was a need for this, they would have said there was no need for it. Now there would be a more positive response and a recognition that there is a problem, there has been a problem. The real question now is how we resolve that problem.

I welcome the cooperation that has existed between the fishermen, their representatives, the Commission and local, regional and national governments, on this particular point. If we are going to find a way forward, that continued cooperation must exist. It is positive and has to be built upon. It must be developed and brought to fruition.

But this cannot be a one-way dialogue. We cannot have the Commission telling the fishermen that it knows everything. The Commission must listen to the fishermen, listen to their experience, listen to what they know, take that on board and work and cooperate with them.

This report also requires technical changes: to the mesh size of nets. It is a very technical report and requires the cooperation of the fishermen with the Commission and regional authorities to ensure that we no longer destroy what was considered a very natural resource in the past.

In Box VIIa in Northern Ireland three ports are totally dependent on the fisheries industry: Kilkeel, Ardglass and Portavogie. Last year the fishermen in that area had an 11-week closure on their fishing rights. That was hard. But in the interests of protecting the juvenile cod and the spawning period, they cooperated and were very positive. I believe there will also be cooperation next year. What the fishermen are asking is that the Commission responds to them in a more positive way than it has in the past.

We have to find a way forward. We have to find a resolution to the situation. That is no easy task way for anyone. I believe we can find a way through and a positive way forward, but only if everyone cooperates. I have tried to bring forward amendments which I hope will be helpful. I hope the Commissioner can be positive in his response.

The technical measures should be reviewed on an annual basis. That would greatly assist fishermen in that area. It is not a burden that is easily carried so we require a review every 12 months. I also hope that the Commissioner can throw a life-line and address the socio-economic hardship associated with the proposals. Will the Commissioner, if the regional or national governments come forward with a proposal, respond in a positive way and try to find a way forward, to support those fishermen, to improve the technical aspects that need improving, to meet the new standards that have been laid down?

This is a very difficult situation. It is not an easy one to resolve. I ask the Commissioner to respond positively.

 
  
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  Langenhagen (PPE-DE).(DE) Madam President, Commissioner, I would like to begin with a variation on a quotation from the poet Heinrich Heine: "If my thoughts at night to fisheries turn, many an hour will I toss and turn". I might add that if I think about the stock of cod in the Irish Sea, then sleep is truly murdered. Vigilance is called for, or do you know the reason why cod stocks, which have for years been more depressed to say the least, have been allowed to reach such a historical low? Is it because of the fish, the fisherman, environmental conditions or society at large?

What is the use of integrated coastal zone management, which we will be discussing shortly, when what structurally weak coastal regions need is a new kind of self-image and above all modern jobs? However, this can only work if the problems of the origin principle and of recrimination, powers and responsibilities can finally be solved at all levels. Meaningful, technically verifiable measures need to be introduced. We need binding sanctions, and we need Member States that exercise their right to check origin, even if doing that hits their pockets.

In addition, three things are needed: political will, fishermen who think like businessmen, and the interaction of consumers and entrepreneurs in the market place. Each of these three strands needs to be underpinned by the same concept – sustainable management of a valuable and irreplaceable food source. Those immediately involved are jointly responsible, money alone will not solve any problems in the long term, Mr Nicholson! Nevertheless, technical measures can help nature to recover when it has got out of balance, and, I hope, can help to restock the Irish Sea with cod.

Unfortunately, our society is inclined to skirt round the law. And it is quite simple to do that in the middle of the night in the Irish Sea. I believe that with targeted checks and reporting, and a continuous dialogue between those involved at all levels, we can all once again sleep soundly – including me. That is why the Committee on Fisheries unanimously supported our feisty colleague James Nicholson. We hope that this House, the Commission, and the Council will follow suit!

 
  
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  Stihler (PSE). – Madam President, rapporteur and Commissioner, this report is a tragic tale about a fish which one author has quoted as literally changing the world in the past thousand years. The beginning of this new millennium is very different from the beginning of the last. There has been a fishing spree across the world touching everywhere, the Irish Sea being no exception, and the results are devastating.

The dramatic decline in cod in the Irish Sea is all too apparent. From 1988 to 1997 the Republic of Ireland's cod catch declined from 5 821 tonnes to 1 492 tonnes. It takes no mathematician to tell you that conservation is critical if there are to be cod fisheries at all in the Irish Sea. Before I speak about technical measure, no one has talked about the fish itself. Did you know that cod will eat anything? Cod are quite lazy fish. The whiteness which we all enjoy eating actually is due to sluggishness rather than muscle tone yet the irony is that cod is a dieter's delight. Cod contains only 0.3% fat and boasts 18% protein, and when dried the protein dramatically increases to 80%. There is no waste in cod. The range of culinary delights a cod provides is extensive – and there are books written about this.

This report outlines the technical measures which can be used to preserve juvenile cod. It deals primarily with mesh sizes and nets. The rapporteur does mention compensation, but I say this with some caution: compensation is a slippery slope. It can provide short-term solutions for a longer-term problem. Sustainable fisheries, where fishermen and their families can survive alongside conservation measures, are mutually beneficial. That will allow cod stocks time to replenish in order to ensure sustainable fisheries again.

Let us make sure that in this millennium people can enjoy cod from the Irish Sea just as much as they did in the last millennium.

 
  
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  Fraga Estévez (PPE-DE).(ES) Madam President, I should like to thank Mr Nicholson for the swiftness with which he has submitted his report. This will enable us to vote tomorrow on a Commission proposal which very much needs to be implemented.

I should like, however, to raise a series of questions that have occurred to me regarding Amendments Nos 1 and 2, which ask that the changes in fishing techniques to be adopted under this proposal should be subsidised under the FIFG. Although in principle I have nothing against aid to fishermen, I do think it should be granted within a specific framework and in accordance with unequivocal criteria, and this is the basis of my question: to clarify what these criteria are.

The rapporteur invokes Articles 15 and 16 of Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 in support of his request for aid. I think in any case that only paragraph 2 of Article 16 should be invoked, and I should therefore like the Commissioner to clarify whether the requests in the report would come under the text of the said article. If the measures contained in this proposal can be financed under Article 16(2) of the FIFG, this would mean that any technical measure involving a major restriction in fishing activity could be too.

It must be remembered that by definition any technical measure involves some restriction on the activity. I think it is worth making this point clear, because it is obvious that any technical measure means an economic loss for fishermen, either directly or indirectly. If this is the criterion that must be followed, it is also clear that if measures such as those proposed are subsidised, then subsidies will also have to be given to any others deriving from a modification of technical measures which would result in changes in the use of fishing techniques or methods, in other words virtually all the reforms under the technical measures regulation.

Commissioner, I should really like you to clarify this point, seeing that Article 16(2) is open to all kinds of interpretations. I should like to know what interpretation the Commission gives to Article 16(2).

Thank you, Madam President, and I forgo one minute of my time this evening, which is getting rather long for everyone.

 
  
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  Stevenson (PPE-DE). – Madam President, I congratulate Mr Nicholson on his excellent report.

He pointed out that in order to be effective such measures require the support of fishermen and scientists who live and work in an area. This may well prove to be a vital trail-blazer for the strategy of devolved management of fisheries which all of us have been discussing in the context of the reform of the CFP. It has become increasingly evident that fishermen and scientists working in a specific fishery will more readily adhere to rules and regulations that they themselves have conceived, rather than Brussels hand-me-downs.

The major fisheries organisations in the UK – the Scottish Fishermen's Federation and the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations – which, between them represent the interests of 1900 vessels, both support the concept of zonal management. Fishermen are also deeply concerned that such rules and regulations may be interpreted and applied differently by fishing vessels from different Member States. That is why again, zonal fisheries management which involves all fishermen working in a common fishery will ensure that the rules are applied fairly and squarely across the board.

This report is timely, as cod stocks are not only diminishing rapidly in the Irish Sea but are in spiral decline around all the waters of the United Kingdom. Some years ago when the House of Commons in London drew up an agreement which effectively ended the cod war between the UK and Iceland, it was famously referred to as "the piece of cod which passeth all understanding". Hopefully this report will mark the beginning of the recovery of cod stocks in the Irish Sea and will pave the way to the future.

 
  
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  Fischler, Commission. – (DE) Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I would first like to offer my heartfelt thanks to Mr Nicholson for his excellent report. At the same time, I would like to reassure him that I am perfectly willing to listen to fishermen, especially as I shall be in Ireland the week after next and will be fostering close contacts and entering into discussions with the fishermen there, and with the entire sector.

You are already very familiar with this proposal, so I believe I do not need to present it again here. I will therefore move straight on to the amendments tabled and I unfortunately have to say that I have some problems with them. There are two reasons why the Commission cannot accept Amendments Nos 3 and 4, which relate to compensatory aid.

First, this document is about technical measures, and a document on technical measures is not the right place for provisions on compensatory aid. Second, and even more importantly, there are Member States who have to decide under Regulation 27/97 whether they will offer fishermen compensatory aid for temporarily withdrawing from fishing activity or not.

The other two amendments, Amendments Nos 1 and 2, address a future review of the regulation and the Commission finds them difficult for the following reasons: first, the fact that everyone – the Commission, Member States' administrations and also fishermen themselves – want the regulation to come into force on 1 January 2001. In my opinion, any delay in this entry into force is to be avoided. Second, this regulation was drafted on the basis of the outcome of meetings with fishermen, scientific experts and administrators, and we intend to continue with these meetings for as long as the cod crisis continues.

This could well lead to a review of the measures and conditions to be put in place now. So I ask you to trust us. We will observe the review conditions in practice. I cannot accept this amendment if the regulation is to come into force as quickly as possible. I hope you will understand this.

 
  
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  Nicholson (PPE-DE). – Madam President, I listened with great interest to the Commissioner. Maybe he could tell me when he is going to visit either the port of Kilkeel, Ardglass or Portavogie. Could he respond to that? He said he is going to visit the fishermen. I would love to be there with him. I would love to accompany him and speak to the fishermen alongside him. Can he tell me when he is going to visit those ports?

 
  
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  Fischler, Commission. – (DE) Madam President, I mentioned that I am going to Ireland – and I am also visiting Scotland, by the way – and I have left it to the governments and the various authorities there to put together my programme and also to decide which fishermen I should meet there. So I cannot change that at the moment, but you are more than welcome to accompany me if you wish, Mr Nicholson.

 
  
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  Nicholson (PPE-DE). – Madam President, I do not want to prolong this but I have a horrible suspicion that the Commissioner is not going to come to Northern Ireland but perhaps to another part of the island of "Ireland" that has nothing to do with Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. If he wants to come to Northern Ireland to visit fishermen I would be happy to go with him. But please do not give me the type of platonic responses you have just given. I will not accept that. If you want to defend that to the fishermen you can do so, but I will not be part of it. Please do not in any way get involved in that type of situation.

Fishing is something on which we all cooperate, in both the north and south of the island. Do not try to make it a political point of view.

 
  
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  President. – The debate is closed.

The vote will take place tomorrow at 10 a.m.

 
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