Trevor Sargent
Question:161 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Marine if he will propose to the EU Commission that fish quotas be measured on the basis of fish caught rather than fish sold in the interest of fish stock conservation. [7306/97]
Written Answers. - Fish Quotas.
Utilisation of fisheries quotas is measured against the quantity of produce landed or transhipped. In respect of species to which a quota limitation applies, it is a legal requirement that the quantity of all such produce caught and retained on board are entered into the relevant vessel's EU logbook. The logbooks entry system is well established and provides the basis for the assessment of quota utilisation.
In order to measure the quantities of quota species which are caught and not retained on board vessels, it would be necessary to maintain a constant presence on every vessel in the EU fleet, an option which I am sure the Deputy will recognise as being completely impractical at this stage. Equally, a system whereby vessel skippers were obliged to record unretained quantities for reckoning toward quota utilisation, would present similar problems in terms of policing.
However, there are on-going discussions in the Fisheries Council on new conservation measures which could be introduced to reduce both the level of discarding and the amount of juvenile fish caught. I will bear the Deputy's concerns in mind in the context of those discussions.