Fisheries Council Outcome

That the Parliament welcomes the outcome of the 2004 Fisheries Council; notes the comments of Hamish Morrison that “It’s a considerable tribute to ministers and officials that they have been able to turn this situation around in the way that they have” and of Mike Park that “the ministers ... strategy has secured a deal to allow the industry to remain in place and hopefully prosper next year”; welcomes the increased flexibility that the new regime allows and the valuable increased quotas for monkfish, prawns and herring; believes resistance to the proposed closed areas which had no scientific justification was the correct approach; notes the efforts of the industry to bring capacity in line with stocks through two painful decommissioning schemes and believes it is starting to deliver results, and calls on the Scottish Executive to continue to work closely with Scotland’s fishermen to maintain a fisheries management policy that takes conservation of fish stocks seriously while ensuring a sustainable future for the fishing industry and fishing communities.