Martin Ferris
Question:230 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the steps he intends to take to prevent the 50-mile Irish Box conservation area being opened up. [21830/02]
Written Answers. - Fisheries Protection.
A regime to limit fishing activity and access to western waters, including the Irish Box, was put in place in 1995 in order to provide for a rational and orderly exploitation of fishing grounds by all vessels, including the Spanish fleet. Ireland's legal advice is that this regime is not time barred and does not come to an end at the end of 2002. It is clear that the Commission has been of the same opinion in so far as it did not envisage an end to the western waters regime in its Green Paper on CFP reform or in the proposals for reform introduced in June 2002.
The legal opinion received from Council legal service at the end of October was totally unexpected and in the view of my legal experts, incomplete and flawed. The advice provides that the western waters regime expires as from 31 December 2002. I will be submitting a formal paper challenging this advice in the next few days.
I am also involved in intensive series of meetings at European level to draw attention to the very serious consequences arising for fish stocks and for the Irish fishing industry if unrestricted access to the Irish Box is allowed from the beginning of next year. In the past week I have met the Portuguese Minister for Fisheries, who shares some common ground with Ireland on this issue, and the Danish Minister for Fisheries who currently holds the Presidency of the Council for Agriculture and Fisheries. I also held a bilateral meeting involving the Irish fishing industry on Monday with Commissioner Fischler, the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Fisheries. At the meeting Ireland's case that the waters within the Irish Box are very sensitive and play an important role as nursery grounds for stocks in western waters and beyond was strongly made. The need to maintain and enhance the current restrictive regime, which is fully justified on the grounds of conservation and rational exploitation of fish stocks, was strongly emphasised. I will continue in the coming weeks to work to have Ireland's position on this issue fully understood by my colleagues at Council in order that Council will be fully informed when this issue is considered by Council in the coming weeks.