Michael Creed
Question:348 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for the Marine if he will establish a conservation box off the Irish coast to preserve fishing stocks.
Written Answers. - Protection of Fish Stocks.
It is not, under the terms of the Common Fisheries policy, open to individual member states to establish conservation boxes. The power to establish such boxes is vested in the Commission and the Council of Ministers. Conservation boxes may be established only on the basis of biological and conservation considerations and must, of course, be non-discriminatory as between the fishermen of different member states.
Boxes have applied in recent years in both the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea herring fisheries. Such boxes have closed off certain areas to herring fishing during peak spawning periods in order to help the conservation and protection of these stocks.
The so-called Irish Box from which Spanish and Portuguese vessels are excluded derives from the Iberian Treaty of Accession to the Community. This is due to expire at the end of 1995. The arrangements to follow are not yet agreed at Council. In view of the risks posed by heavy concentration of fishing effort by certain vessels to the South West of Ireland at the perimeter of the box, and the extreme pressure on fishing resources, I am pursuing at Community level proposals to adopt specific control arrangements so as to ensure the conservation of stocks in these areas.