The next item on the agenda is the cod and hake recovery plans.
God, not fish again.
This is obviously your domain, John.
Hear, hear. They are good people.
I suggest that we note the contents of the report that we have received. Do members have any points that they want to make in relation to the report?
It is not really a report; it is a helpful update.
We should reflect on the time scales. The attempts to reduce the cod catch—which led to the political rows that we had last year—are on-going and we have yet to see any real results. I do not expect any to appear overnight, but the effectiveness of the measures that the Scottish Executive implemented must come under scrutiny. Many people in the north-east and many members of the Parliament disagreed with those measures. Spain—which also has a significant interest in fishing—now has presidency of the European Union and will take the lead in making any changes to the measures that can be taken. I would like at least some clues as to how effective the measures have been, even in the short term.
I was going to suggest that we pass on the paper and annexes to the Rural Development Committee and that we allow it the opportunity to comment, if it wants to do that.
Will you tell us what is in the note that the clerk has just passed to you? It might make what I was about to say redundant.
Stephen Imrie has reminded me that Struan Stevenson is a member of the European Parliament Fisheries Committee. We can contact and discuss the matter with him.
Did you have to remind us of that?
I fully endorse what the convener said. The Rural Development Committee knows more about the matter than most folk. However, another issue relates to the European Committee in particular, and that is the Spanish presidency's approach to the issue. We should keep a watchful eye out. The largest market and fleet are under the Spanish flag. Spain is less than happy with the cod recovery plan and there are serious internal pressures being put on the Spanish presidency from Galicia, the Basque country and Asturias to push back boundaries in respect of recovery plans. That was the chat in the newspapers when I was in Spain a week ago last Saturday. Keeping an eye on how the Spanish presidency makes use of its time in the seat, as it were, would be worth while—the issue is vital in maintaining domestic quiet in Spanish politics.
Spain's views have been known for a considerable time.
During our inquiry, we discovered that there is a Spanish view and that there are internal Spanish views, but we also discovered what actually goes on.
We should remember that the excellent principle of relative stability means that the Spanish interest in the North sea is zero—long may that continue.
Absolutely.
It is useful to note from the report that the Executive has confirmed that it looks as though the Commission will go ahead with proposals for further cuts, but the UK will oppose those. The view of the Executive and the UK Government is that it is not feasible to design and implement such schemes in such a short time. It is important that that is on record. Perhaps the committee will agree to copy the briefing paper and the annexes to the Rural Development Committee and offer to be involved further, if necessary. We will give to the Rural Development Committee information that it might wish to deal with by itself. Is that agreed?
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