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Issue of the day: Fisheries policy
Party spokesmen debate the future of UK fisheries policy.
Labour: Fisheries minister Ben Bradshaw
Sea fisheries have long been of special significance to the UK, and form the backbone of many coastal communities. This government recognises the integral role of the fishing industry to the UK economy. By remaining within the common fisheries policy we will be better placed to realise our commitment to sustainable fisheries management, a crucial part of managing man's impact on the marine environment as a whole.
Whilst this government achieved a successful outcome at the fisheries council in December, we are in no position to rest on our laurels. Some parts of the industry are doing very well, but some key stocks remain at dangerously low levels. There is increasing concern globally over the sustainability of fishing practices, the need to protect vulnerable marine species and habitats, the plight of key fish stocks, and of the industry that depends on them.
The CFP we have now provides us with the right tools to manage fisheries in a sustainable and effective way. It is important to note its successes. With recovery plans for depleted stocks of cod and hake, we are moving towards more stable long-term management of stocks.
Labour is also committed to bringing forward a marine bill in the next parliament, to allow different uses of the seas – including fisheries and offshore wind – to develop harmoniously.
Conservative: Shadow fisheries minister Owen Paterson
Central to Conservative values is the view that we should have small government. We feel we should tackle issues on an international basis only when justified and at a national level only when this is appropriate. Otherwise, we believe that decisions should be made locally, close to the people most affected by them.
Never has this been more true than in one particular aspect of government activity – our fishing policy which currently is run by the European Union under its common fisheries policy. Therefore, Michael Howard has committed the Conservatives to returning fishing policy to national and local control by negotiation if possible and, if necessary, by national legislation.
The common fisheries policy is a biological, environmental, economic and social disaster; it is beyond reform. It is a system that forces fishermen to throw back more fish dead into the sea than they land, it has caused substantial degradation of the marine environment, it has destroyed much of the fishing industry, with compulsory scrapping of modern vessels, and has devastated fishing communities.
However, simply exchanging a bureaucratic system run from Brussels for one run by the bureaucrats in London and national centres is no panacea. It must be accompanied by a local management system, which has the confidence and trust of the nation and the fishermen who work within in it.
The essence of the policy, therefore, is national and local control. Nevertheless, we have to stress that we consider environmental issues to be of the utmost importance, but we have accepted the challenge of addressing the needs of the environment, while also supporting a viable fishing industry, which includes the recreational fishing sector, which is hugely important to the economy.
Liberal Democrats: Rural affairs spokesman Andrew George
Fish may not be that bright, but at least they’re just about intelligent enough not to have hang-ups about their nationality. Yet that hasn’t stopped the Conservatives suggesting that the UK government could simultaneously pull out of the common fisheries policy (CFP) whilst remaining in the EU.
Don't get me wrong; I'm no defender of the CFP. Indeed, I share all of the same criticisms of its past failures, and unlike the Conservatives – who negotiated our entry and saw our fishing communities as expendable when they did so – I would not have started from here. While the Liberal Democrats will never discount any realistic, workable and deliverable policy option to help achieve a more sustainable future for the UK fishing industry, claims that we can pull out of the CFP must be backed up by at least a shred of credibility.
So how can we improve the situation for fishermen and fish stocks? The CFP has failed our fish stocks, fishermen and fishing communities. We have argued for the scrapping of the centralised basis of the CFP. Recent reforms brought in a degree of decentralisation – albeit slowly and timidly.
We are determined to establish regional management councils of fishermen, enforcement authorities, scientists, recreational anglers and other stakeholders to decide on an effective and sustainable long-term management programme for the fishing resources in each region. Under new rules, regional advisory councils are being set up – the first being the North Sea – but we would give them more power.
The UK fishing industry has gone through a seriously damaging decline over the last couple of decades. It now has the chance to build a sustainable future by getting politicians out of the technical decision-making process. But chasing fantasy politics is just committing a cruel hoax on hard-working fishermen and desperate fishing communities.
The above texts are edited versions of articles which first appeared in The Parliamentary Monitor Magazine.
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