Common Fisheries Policy

Debate between Lord Benyon and Tony Lloyd

Thursday 14th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Richard Benyon]

My hon. Friend, like many Members of the House, is very good at standing up for fishing interests in her constituency. I assure her and them that my commitment to getting a better deal for the under-10-metre fleet remains absolutely solid. I am grateful for the work that she and fishermen in her constituency, as well as the New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association and other organisations have been doing to make consultation become a reality. Let me reassure her that I want a better deal for our inshore fleet, which largely fishes sustainably and needs better fishing opportunities.

[Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab)]

May I return to the important point raised by the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry) earlier? The problem of overfishing is global and threatens life in the oceans as a whole. This is urgent: will the Minister give a commitment that the British Government will use the opportunity presented by this review of the common fisheries policy to internationalise this process and to make sure there is investment in the real scientific research this problem needs?

[Richard Benyon]

On the latter point, absolutely. Science has not been mentioned this morning, but it is very important that we develop a much closer working relationship between scientists and fishermen and that our scientific understanding of fish stocks is improved. I am very pleased to see in the document a commitment to address fisheries partnership agreements and the impact they could have on seas and ecosystems beyond EU borders. I think we should all be concerned if our taxpayers’ money is going in benign or actual subsidies to fishing practices at home or abroad that are hugely damaging not only to the marine environment but to the societies that the marine environment should be supporting.