John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for his reply and I recognise that for 2012 he secured for fishermen the same quota which obtained in 2011. However, there are serious concerns among those in the north west that the unsustainable fishing practices being engaged in by fishing vessels from Iceland and the Faroe Islands will eventually destroy the industry here. In a joint statement issued on 16 February last, Commissioner Damanaki and the Norwegian Minister for Fisheries, Ms Lisbeth Berg-Hansen, said "In spite of five rounds of consultations in autumn 2011 and early 2012...it is particularly disappointing that neither Iceland nor the Faroe Islands really engaged in the negotiation process." Has there been any movement in the interim? Have the two parties in question been encouraged to return to the table in order to engage in the negotiation process in a meaningful way?

Is it the case that the Commission has proposed that sanctions should only relate to mackerel being imported into the EU?

That is tantamount to doing nothing as 95% of the mackerel exports are sent outside the EU.

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