Edwin Poots
South Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I call Mr Eóin Tennyson. Again, this is Mr Tennyson's first opportunity to speak as a private Member, so I remind the House that it is convention that a maiden speech be made without interruption. However, if you choose to express views that provoke an interruption, you are likely to forfeit that protection.”
“Sorry — Ms Armstrong. My apologies. <BR /> <BR />That the Assembly could, in some way, get that money out when it is a UK Government responsibility. The UK Government have distributed it directly in Scotland and Wales, not through the Welsh Parliament and not through the Scottish Parliament.”
“I have not got time; I am sorry. <BR /> <BR />Ursula von der Leyen, who was in the Republic last week, made some of the most ridiculous claims about the British Government, who have supported Ukraine in a way that no other Government in Europe have and who have never engaged in the activity that was suggested by Ursula von der Leyen.”
“Today, a lot of statements have been made but there has not been a lot of fact behind a lot of what has been said. We have Michelle O'Neill, who walked out of her role as Health Minister — not for six months but for three years — and abandoned her position when we had Bengoa and there were all the problems with nursing that led to the str…”
“I need to deal with the issues first. <BR /> <BR />He referred to the Budget that he produced. No party supported that Budget. The Alliance Party did not support it, because it did not cover policing and prisons. Infrastructure did not support it, because it would not allow it to do the basics of what had to be done.”
“We had a circumstance where Sinn Féin repeated, month after month after month, that there were hundreds of millions to give to the public when that did not exist and when, in reality, Minister Murphy was racking up debt that will roll into next year, which will ensure that that will be a difficult financial year.”
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“We have worked closely with the UK Government and indicated to them over and over again that unfettered access is critical. Some people thought that unfettered access was only important for trade between North and South even though it represents a fraction of the trade that takes place between east and west. So, it is hugely unfortunate that people paid attention to those who said that could we have nothing North/South and that it was easier to do everything east-west because there will be a greater distortion on trade as a consequence. The UK Government have made it clear that trade between Northern Ireland and GB will be unfettered, but the EU has not accepted that. The EU needs to back off and accept that if Britain wants to accept goods from Northern Ireland unfettered, it can butt out.”
“That remains to be seen, because it is not the only thing that will not be ready. I do not believe that the IT system, which is critical and is being led by DEFRA, will be ready either. There are a number of things that will not be ready, so a decision will be taken at that point. I imagine that the European Union, which has indicated how much it loves Northern Ireland, will hardly want to starve the people of Northern Ireland from 1 January.”
“Brandon Lewis says that checks have been in place since the 19th century and that the Government would work to deliver in a way that works for Northern Ireland. The UK Government's view is that they are delivering on that and that there will be checks on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS). Mr Allister is a keen supporter of moving to rule by a Westminster Government and not having a Government here. This is a solution to an Irish problem being imposed on Northern Ireland by a Westminster Government. We — Mr Allister, the people of Northern Ireland and me — are the people who will suffer as a consequence of that imposed solution. It is not of our making, and no matter what somersaults Mr Allister performs, he will not prove that to be the case because it is not the case.”
“I am certainly not blaming officials for anything. Officials are doing the job that they are tasked to do, and that is their role. However, if Mr Allister wants to apportion blame for this happening, then he should turn to the Government that he wishes all of Northern Ireland to be governed by, and that is the Westminster Government.”
“As the Member will be aware, an application for a proposed certificate of lawful use or development (CLUD) was submitted to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council on 15 September 2020. The application was submitted to confirm that the proposed development for the Northern Ireland point of entry at Larne port falls within permitted development rights, as set out in the Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015. Details of the application submitted in respect of Larne port are not in the public domain. Therefore, my officials are assessing this request under Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and will respond in due course.”
“<BR /> <BR />I hope that in a number of years when people take a drive around the coast and go into Ardglass, Portavogie and Kilkeel, they will see harbours that have boats that are modern, well-equipped and safe, and an industry that is thriving as opposed to one that has been allowed to deteriorate under the common fisheries policy. <BR /> <BR />I commend the Bill. It is the best opportunity for us to move forward. We have no other options. I asked Members that if they had options, to state them, and they were strangely silent. It is easy to criticise something, but in the absence of an alternative, I do not see much merit in that criticism. <BR /> <BR />I appeal to Members from all sides of the House to support the Bill.”
“<BR /> <BR />I'll tell you what: I will take the chance that I will catch it and sell it, as opposed to standing back and allowing someone else to come in and catch it and sell it when they did not have any right to it in the first place. It is a bit like opening the door of your house, and saying, "Come in and take what you want from the fridge". At some point, you have to say enough is enough. <BR /> <BR />I am thankful that we are coming out of the common fisheries policy. It was not good for our fishing fleet and it was not good for our fishing industry. This legislative consent motion allows us to move forward. It will allow for a new dawn and a move away from a very dark night that we have spent under the common fisheries policy.”
“<BR /> <BR />I do not agree with aspects of the protocol; that is very well known, but on that aspect, if they are to be honourable and do the right thing by Northern Ireland, which they claim to have done for years and want to do going forward, this just will not be an issue. Northern Ireland fish will have full access to the markets in the European Union. <BR /> <BR />In any event, as Mr Aiken quite rightly pointed out, a lot of the fish stocks are exhausted. The Mediterranean, for example, is heavily populated by tuna. Many of the fish caught in the Irish Sea are not available in other part of the European Union. Therefore, they are desirable. Our nephrops are desirable, not just in the European Union but right around the world, because of the high quality of the material that our fishermen are catching.”
“The Member knows full well that funding would not be part of the Bill. We have requested at least the same money as we received previously under the EMFF. <BR /> <BR />I will make this very clear in the House, and I hope that it goes back to Europe. The notion that some people have put forward from the European Union negotiating side, that there should be a tariff put on fish caught in the Irish Sea and landed in this part of Ireland, is entirely wrong, and they need to back off. They need to back off and not be making silly suggestions that fish caught a few miles off our coast and landed here would be subject to tariffs. We are part of the single market as a consequence of the protocol, so what is the issue? As part of the single market, we should have the same ability to sell fish landed here in that single market as anywhere else.”
“I certainly would not want to be in the position where I would not have the ability or facility to provide that necessary support because I had voted for a political reason.”
“They were thoughtful and helpful, and I appreciate that. A series of Members made supportive comments. Mr Harvey, Mr Bradley, Mr Nesbitt, Ms Barton, Ms Bailey and Mr Blair responded in a very positive way. <BR /> <BR />Without this Bill, we will not have the suite of legislation and the appropriate powers to support the industry via grants post 1 January 2021. That will put our industry at a competitive disadvantages to that in the rest of the UK and the EU. I ask Members to think very carefully and to reflect upon that. I have spoken very clearly and directly to Ms Ennis, for example. Is that where she wants to be in the representation of the people in her constituency?”
“That would probably be a long conversation. I will maybe leave that for you to have with him, Mr Aiken. <BR /> <BR />Mr O'Toole claims that the Bill is silent on aquaculture. Unfortunately, he has demonstrated that he has not looked at the Bill very closely. If he had, he would not have suggested anything like that because the Bill mentions aquaculture no less than 90 times. The objectives and other provisions of the Bill also relate to aquaculture where specified. The Bill does provide powers for the Administrations to introduce schemes of financial assistance for fish and aquaculture industries, and it includes provisions related to fish, health and diseases that specifically relate to aquaculture. Aquaculture is well covered within the Bill. <BR /> <BR />I welcome Mr Aiken's comments.”
“— yes, I will in a moment — that the Irish fishing fleet can continue to fish in our waters and that our people can still go down to Dundalk Bay. Mr Coveney cannot do anything on that because he does not have the power to do that. He has given that power to the European Union and we are getting that power back.”
“That is positive news and will be appreciated by all in the fishing fleet. <BR /> <BR />I terms of the voisinage agreement, I appreciate the valuable instrument that it has been for fleets here and in the Republic of Ireland. However, shortly after becoming Minister, I mentioned the issue of us fishing in Irish waters and Irish boats fishing in our waters, to the Foreign Minister Mr Coveney. His reply was, "I cannot do business with you on this. It has to be done through the European Union". It has to be done through the European Union, a sovereign state. Sorry, I do not have the power to talk to this devolved Administration Minister about doing a reciprocal arrangement that has existed for years and ensuring —”
“<BR /> <BR />Mr O'Toole, and I am glad that he has returned, complained about the lack of detail in the Bill. As I explained, it is a framework Bill that gives us the power to develop the detail. For example, the detailed policies about fishery statements and future funding regimes will be subject to full consultation with the Committee. That will be a decision for us and the detail will be a decision for us, the elected representatives of the people of Northern Ireland: it will not be a decision for some civil servant in the European Union. That is something to be welcomed. <BR /> <BR />Mr O'Toole referred to migrant labour; he knows full well that that is a reserved matter. It is not a policy for this Bill. It is an entirely different matter. I thank Mr Nesbitt for bringing the information on the MAC to the House.”
“In terms of the suggestion that the Secretary of State has too much power, I reiterate that he does not have any more power than the EU, yet those who were objecting were happy for the EU to have those powers. We are benefiting today from having issues devolved to us, not all issues, but a considerable amount of issues devolved to us. <BR /> <BR />There was a complaint, "Oh no, the Secretary of State has too much power". He does not have the power that the European Union had. Therefore, that objection does not have any standing. We want to preserve our devolved responsibilities. For years, we have successfully been working in partnership with the Secretary of State, Scotland, Wales and fisheries. There is no reason why that successful partnership cannot continue.”
“However, the Bill will open up the opportunities. We have established our own Bill team to review our own Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 and we will be working with DEFRA to gain those powers. It is important to demonstrate that this is not all about the economy. There is a big environmental impact, for the good, as a consequence of supporting this Bill.”
“As I said, I will give way. I will hear the Member if she has a better idea or proposal. However, just to oppose it is actually to damage the communities that she purports to represent. <BR /> <BR />As I said, we have powers now through the Bill to designate MPAs in our offshore zone. That policy would be to the good of the environment. The Secretary of State has agreed to work with us to amend the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. It is not within the scope of the Bill to do that.”
“If we do not approve the LCM, how will she support the fishing industry? I am happy to give way to her if she wants to tell us how she will support the people in Ardglass and Kilkeel in her constituency. I am supporting them here by supporting the Bill. She is not supporting them by going against it.”
“Let us not just say that remote monitoring is out — it is not; it is something for us to consider — but it is for us to consider with a series of other tools and work with the fishing community, who are responsible custodians of the seas and have been over the years. <BR /> <BR />Philip McGuigan referred to the film 'Salem's Lot'. If he wants to refer to films, he could have referred to "the EU chainsaw massacre" on our fishing ports, because it has absolutely destroyed our fishing industry. I have to say that I was stunned that Ms Ennis, in particular, was so robust against the Bill because the consequence of not approving the LCM will be that there is no funding to support fishing communities in 2021. We will not be able to provide that support, grant aid or licensing. Therefore, what do we do? What is Ms Ennis's policy?”
“Those are three of the eight priorities that we have set, which all relate to the environment. We want to ensure that we have the right balance and there is not the complete hierarchy of one objective, but sustainability is critical to our role. <BR /> <BR />Mr Blair also mentioned remote electronic monitoring, as did Ms Bailey. I agree that it has a place in fisheries management. It is just one tool. It could be a tad draconian to impose it on all vessels, particularly those that are under 10 metres. Therefore, it is important that we have that devolved flexibility to chose from the range of management tools and measures, and pick those that are best suited to our fleet.”
“The good news for Ms Bailey is that there is an adequacy of fish in the Irish Sea for all the communities who fish in it. For people in the west of Scotland and England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man and Wales, there is an adequacy of fish to go after without overfishing. Therefore, we do not need to give 20% of our nephrops stocks to France. There is a significant uplift to be had without overfishing, which will benefit our fishermen in a very substantial and significant way. We need to take account of that. <BR /> <BR />I will add that the sustainability objective has to be paramount. We need to protect the environment. Several objectives relate to that; the sustainability, ecosystem and precautionary objectives, which I mentioned.”
“Our fishing industry has been emasculated by the common fisheries policy. People who suggest otherwise should be ashamed of themselves. <BR /> <BR />Mr McGlone, for example, said that we did not have a very good record when it came to the science. How dare he? I wish that he were here. How dare he say that we do not have a good record? We have abided by what has been imposed upon us. That is why our fishing industry has been on its knees whilst France, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, with their super-trawlers the size of football pitches, have been pillaging the seas. Our small 10-metre boats have been bringing in very modest amounts of fish, and observing the science that is there.”
“If anyone had driven round the fishing harbours during the time of the Brexit referendum, they could not have failed to notice the numbers of fishing boats that actually had flags up supporting the leaving of the European Union. If you want to see an industry that has been destroyed as a consequence of European Union regulation, fishing is the best example of it. Go to Ardglass, Portavogie and, to a lesser extent, Kilkeel and see the wooden boats with the flaking paint or the rusting steel boats. It is not a pleasant sight. It is not because those people are not prepared to work hard; they are. It is not because those people were not prepared to go out to sea and catch the fish and bring it in and land it and do all that needs to be done. They were prepared to do it, but they were not allowed to do it.”
“It has a huge boundary of water around it for fishing purposes, but here they are allowed up into the Irish Sea. Why? Because France are powerful negotiators in the European Union. Then they will not let us catch cod. Every year, they tell us, "Oh, the cod stocks haven't recovered. Oh, you can't catch any cod in the Irish Sea, because the cod stocks are terrible." Cod is a fish that is commonly eaten here and commonly used here and which used to be caught by our fishermen for our people. What do they do? The cod actually migrate down the Irish Sea from north to south, and we cannot catch them, but the French and Spanish super-trawlers are waiting at the bottom of the Celtic Sea, and they are catching all the cod. <BR /> <BR />Nobody need tell me that our leaving the European Union is a terrible thing for fisheries.”
“Let me say that science might have been applied at the start of the process, but I think that, by the end of it, there was not much science applied. There was a haggling session every year, and our Ministers from the UK Government were over fighting the case for us. I think that we stand a better chance of dealing with Brandon Lewis than dealing with that. <BR /> <BR />Members have said that there will not be much more fishing opportunity in the Irish Sea, and they have tried to quote officials. I think that, if they were quoting officials right, they would be saying that there will not be as much opportunity to expand in the Irish Sea as there will be in the North Sea and other parts of British waters. Nonetheless, they gave France the opportunity to take 20% of the nephrops in our waters — France?!”
“The Bill allows us to deal with the marine environment. It allows us to actually deal with the fish quotas and the new rules and the future funding. Without the Bill, we do not have any of that. <BR /> <BR />I heard some Members complaining that it gives the Secretary of State too much power over quotas. How was it done before? I remember, when the deputy First Minister was the Agriculture Minister, she used to head off to Brussels in December, just before Christmas. It was not a shopping exercise — more of a fishing exercise. She went over to Brussels to try to get a bit of quota for our fishermen. In December every year, there was a haggling session over fishing. It was supposed to be about science.”
“You can actually make the decisions on behalf of your own people, and you are saying, "Oh, no, no. We don't want it. This is a terrible Bill".”
“It is a framework Bill; it gives us enabling powers. Enabling powers allow us to develop issues. Ms Bailey has just pointed out issues that she would like to see developed. She is right. That is how you do it. You take the framework Bill, and you build upon it. Ms Bailey and others can make their argument for how things could be developed going forward. <BR /> <BR />The interesting thing is that we, the House — the Members behind me and the Members in front of me — will have the opportunity to make those decisions. Previously, we had no role to play, because it was all done over in Brussels. We had one MEP, Sinn Féin had one MEP, the Ulster Unionists had one MEP and the SDLP did not have any. A great influence you would have there, amongst 800 MEPs.”
“I am glad to respond to the debate, and I thank Members for participating in it. The Chairman spoke at length. He started off with issues around the Bill being rushed and the lack of time in which to consider it. Unfortunately, that was unavoidable. We have done our best, in a very short time, to get this done before the end of transition to provide the Committee with as much time as possible in the circumstances. Thankfully, the industry has expressed support for the Bill, as Mr Nesbitt pointed out. It is interesting to note that the industry supports it, but a number of Members opposite — Members who, apparently, represent fishing areas, and some who come from fishing areas — do not support it. Interestingly, they do not support the industry on this issue. <BR /> <BR />It was suggested by Mr McAleer that the Bill lacked detail.”
“<BR /> <BR />Thirdly, a new provision should be tabled at Report Stage in the House of Commons to provide Scottish and Welsh Ministers and DAERA with a power to enter into arrangements with, for example, other devolved Administrations and their marine management organisations. That amendment would provide the legislative basis for putting in place those joint working arrangements.”
“First, the UK Government are being asked to table an amendment at Report Stage in the House of Commons that will provide DAERA with similar powers to regulate fishing in the Northern Ireland offshore region. <BR /> <BR />Secondly, schedule 2, to which I referred, includes amendments to subordinate legislation that was made to address local issues that, because of EU law, could be applied only to UK vessels. The UK Government have been asked to table an amendment to that schedule at Report Stage in the House of Commons in order to include six Northern Ireland statutory rules so that the restrictions and requirements that are provided by them will apply equally to all fishing vessels that are licensed to fish in the Northern Ireland zone.”
“Schedule 3 makes further provision in relation to sea fishing licences, and schedule 4 makes minor and consequential amendments to access to UK waters and licensing. Schedules 6 to 9 and schedule 11, which has been covered, also apply to Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />Before I finish, I will bring Members' attention to three amendments that will be tabled by the UK Government at Report Stage in the House of Commons. I am mentioning them here simply in the interests of transparency and completeness. The Bill as introduced amends the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 in order to provide powers for Scottish and Welsh Ministers to regulate fishing for marine conservation purposes in their respective offshore regions.”
“provisions etc. They define commonly used terms in the Bill, set out the territorial extent of the Bill, explain when the Bill's provisions will come into effect and provide the short title, which, when the Bill becomes an Act, will be the Fisheries Act 2020. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I will turn to the schedules that apply to Northern Ireland. Schedule 1 sets out the procedures that will apply to the preparation, adoption and publication of the joint fisheries statement. Schedule 2 amends secondary legislation that will ensure that foreign fishing vessels that are licensed to fish in UK waters will be subject to the same requirements and restrictions as UK fishing vessels that are operating in those waters.”
“That means that their fisheries' regimes and regulatory frameworks must comply with the United States's Marine Mammal Protection Act, which gives a very high level of protection to marine mammals and includes a prohibition on international killing. This amendment will enable us to meet those requirements. <BR /> <BR />Clause 46 introduces schedule 11, which makes minor and consequential amendments to retained direct EU legislation. Clauses 47 to 51 make final provisions. Those provide for amendments to certain provisions of subordinate legislation to ensure that any such provisions can be further amended by subordinate legislation in the future provided that regulations that are made under the Bill make:”
“Those provisions relate to technical matters that are currently regulated by the EU under the common fisheries policy and will allow us to make changes to amend UK fisheries law. <BR /> <BR />Clause 44 introduces schedule 9, which contains amendments to the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and in connection with prohibiting the killing, injuring or taking of seals. The current position in the UK is that permission can be granted, albeit under licence, to shoot seals in order to protect fisheries' interests, particularly salmon farms. However, countries that wish to export fish and fish products to the United States of America from 1 January 2020 must have obtained what is known as a comparability finding.”
“Clause 35 amends the Fisheries Act 1981 in order to extend a requirement that the Sea Fish Industry Authority, which is perhaps better known as Seafish, must recover the full cost of any service that it provides to persons in other countries. That is a technical amendment that will enable Seafish to recover all its costs from persons in the EU regardless of what it charges those in the UK. <BR /> <BR />Clauses 36 to 41 relate to the power to make further provisions about fisheries, aquaculture, aquatic animal diseases and scope. Clause 42 introduces schedule 8, which provides the Northern Ireland Department with the power to make provisions about fisheries and aquaculture etc and aquatic animal diseases corresponding to those that are conferred on the Secretary of State by clauses 36 and 38.”
“Clause 33 introduces schedule 6, which confers power on the Northern Ireland Department to give financial assistance or to arrange for financial assistance to be given to any person for a range of specified purposes. It must be given in accordance with a scheme established by regulations made by the Northern Ireland Department. <BR /> <BR />Clause 34 introduces schedule 7, which confers powers on the Northern Ireland Department, corresponding to those conferred on the Secretary of State by the clause. Those relate to the imposition of charges for carrying out specific marine functions. Members will wish to note that the regulation-making powers in schedules 6 and 7 would be subject to the Assembly's affirmation resolution and negative resolution procedures respectively.”
“<BR /> <BR />Clauses 19 to 22 set out the penalties for offences in relation to access and licensing, the jurisdiction of a court to try offences, and consequential amendments. Included in that are the circumstances in which the officer of a body corporate as well as the body corporate may be found guilty of committing a relevant offence. <BR /> <BR />That takes me to clauses 25 and 26, which relate to fishing opportunities. Clause 25 sets out the criteria for the distribution of fishing opportunities, according to transparent and objective criteria, including those of an environmental, social and economic nature. Clause 26 places a duty on fisheries authorities to ensure that fishing opportunities are not exceeded. <BR /> <BR />Clauses 33 to 35 relate to grants and charges.”
“The clause reflects the fact that, once the UK has left the common fisheries policy, access for foreign vessels to fish in UK waters is subject to negotiations. Members will be aware that that issue is key to ongoing negotiations between the UK Government and the European Union. <BR /> <BR />Clause 17 provides a power for the devolved Administrations and the Marine Management Organisation to grant licences to foreign fishing boats but with respect only to the area of UK waters for which they have competence. For us, that means the Northern Ireland zone. <BR /> <BR />Clause 18 defines "sea fishing licence" and introduces schedule 3, which makes further provision about sea fishing licences.”
“<BR /> <BR />Clauses 14 to 18 deal with the licensing of fishing boats. Clause 14 sets out the circumstances in which a licence is required for British fishing boats, subject to certain exemptions. That maintains the status quo and ensures that a licence will be effective throughout UK waters. The clause also provides the DEFRA Secretary of State with the power to amend the section by regulations but only with the consent of the devolved Administrations. That respects the devolution settlements. <BR /> <BR />Clause 15 provides a power for devolved Administrations and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to grant licences to British fishing boats. Clause 16 prohibits fishing by foreign fishing boats unless they have a licence issued by a fisheries administration.”
“That is to provide for some flexibility in decision-making. Clause 11 places a requirement on the fisheries authorities to report on the effectiveness of the policies in the joint fisheries statement and the fisheries management plans and to lay those in the respective legislatures. <BR /> <BR />I move to clauses 12 and 13, which cover access to British fisheries by foreign fishing boats and the regulation of foreign fishing boats. Clause 12 sets out when foreign fishing boats may enter British fishery limits, when they must leave and the offence for failing to comply. Clause 13 introduces schedule 2, which contains amendments to subordinate legislation and ensures that foreign fishing vessels are subject to the same regulations as British fishing boats when fishing in UK waters.”
“Clause 6 places a duty on the relevant fisheries authorities to prepare and publish the proposed fisheries management plans in the joint fisheries statement and sets out what should be specified in each plan, including whether there is sufficient scientific evidence to make an assessment of a stock's maximum sustainable yield. <BR /> <BR />Clause 7 sets out the requirements for preparing and publishing replacement plans or amendments to existing plans, while clause 8 sets out the procedure that should be followed. Clause 9 permits a fisheries authority to prepare and publish a fisheries management plan before a joint fisheries statement has been agreed and published. Clause 10 permits each fisheries authority to pursue the policies outlined in the joint fisheries statement or fisheries management plans that are applicable to them.”
“Clause 2 places a duty on the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the devolved Administrations to set out their policies for achieving the fisheries objectives in clause 1 and how they intend to make use of fisheries management plans in order to achieve those objectives. It recognises that a joined-up approach is needed on the coordination of fisheries policies once the UK has left the common fisheries policy. The Bill as amended at Committee Stage in the House of Commons requires that the statement is published not later than two years from the date of Royal Assent. Clause 3 sets out the procedures that should follow in the preparation and publication of the statement and of any replacement of or amendment to it. <BR /> <BR />Clauses 6 to 11 relate to fisheries management plans.”
“It would have required future policies to give priority to environmental sustainability over economic and social sustainability. In fact, it would have been prioritised over the other seven fisheries objectives. The UK Government's response was that there should be no hierarchy of objectives and that the place for applying these objectives to the policies in each jurisdiction should be the joint fisheries statement. That is a position that I support. <BR /> <BR />That takes me neatly on to clauses 2 and 3, which relate to the joint fisheries statement.”
“<BR /> <BR />A national benefit objective will ensure that the activities of UK fishing boats bring social or economic benefits to the UK or part of the UK. <BR /> <BR />A climate change objective will seek to minimise the adverse effect of fishing and aquaculture activities on climate change and ensure that those activities adapt to climate change. <BR /> <BR />Before I leave these objectives, I would like to mention an amendment that was passed in the House of Lords but subsequently overturned by the UK Government in the House of Commons at Committee Stage. I mention it specifically because I know that it has been of interest to some Members and indeed others outside the House. This was the insertion of a new subsection into clause 1 so that the sustainability objective would become the primary fisheries objective.”
“It will also require the UK's fisheries administrations to work together, share data and make use of that data to inform our fisheries management policies. <BR /> <BR />A by-catch objective will seek to avoid or reduce catches of unwanted by-catch. It will also include undersized fish and the need to record and account for all catches so that they are not discarded at sea, but without incentivising the catching of undersized fish. <BR /> <BR />An equal access objective will ensure that the access of UK fishing boats to any area within British fishery limits is not affected by the fishing boat's home port or any other connection of the fishing boat or any of its owners to any place in the UK.”
“<BR /> <BR />A sustainability objective will ensure that fishing and aquaculture activities are environmentally sustainable in the long term and managed in a way that is consistent with the objectives of achieving economic, social and employment benefits. <BR /> <BR />A precautionary objective will apply a precautionary approach to fisheries management and ensure that marine stocks are maintained above levels that are capable of producing maximum sustainable yield. <BR /> <BR />An ecosystem objective will implement an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management. This will ensure that negative impacts of fishing activities on the ecosystem are minimised and also that incidental catches are minimised and, where possible, eliminated. <BR /> <BR />A scientific evidence objective will contribute to the collection of scientific data.”
“This can only be good for the future of sustainable fishing, an objective that I am sure that we can we can all support and which I will return to later. The Bill as amended at Committee Stage in the House of Commons contains provisions of interest to Northern Ireland on fisheries objectives, fisheries statements and fisheries management plans; access to UK waters; fishing boat licensing; fishing opportunities; grants and charges; financial assistance; and the powers to amend UK law related to fisheries and aquatic animal health. <BR /> <BR />I turn now to the detail of the Bill and specifically to those clauses that are UK-wide and touch on devolved matters. Clause 1 defines UK fisheries objectives and is one of the Bill's key elements. There are eight objectives.”
“This UK Government Bill contains UK-wide clauses, the majority of which relate to devolved matters. It also contains a small number of provisions that are specific to Northern Ireland. It is for this reason that I am seeking the Assembly's legislative consent to the Bill extending to Northern Ireland. However, before I get into the detail of these provisions, I would like to emphasise the importance of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />The Bill will ensure that a legal framework is in place so that the UK is able to operate as an independent coastal state under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 after the UK has left the common fisheries policy at the end of the year. In addition and no less importantly, it will allow us to create common approaches to fisheries management within the rest of the UK.”