Within the European Parliament I serve on the fisheries committee and on the industry, external trade, research and energy committee. My membership of the fisheries committee has come at a time of reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, which is critical for the future of the Irish fishing industry and at a time when there is an unprecedented need to protect the interests of Irish fishermen, their families and the coastal communities to which they belong. The Common Fisheries Policy must be geared to keeping alive regions that depend on fishing rather than making it a battlefield between states. Fishermen share common interests. They all need fishery resources to carry on their activity. There are problems with fish stocks at this time. We have an obligation to be serious about fisheries conservation and sustainability of fish stocks. However, recovery plans for fish stocks cannot disregard the social and economic consequences. I regret the current unsatisfactory state of fish stocks and am in favour of conservation. Since day one I have been adamant that highly sensitive areas must be protected. This is particularly true of the fishing area known as the Irish Box. I had the privilege of being appointed rapporteur by the fisheries committee in the European Parliament on this sensitive issue of major importance to Ireland. Time and again I stressed that the area known as the Irish Box was a rich fishing area with a high concentration of juvenile fish and spawning grounds. I stressed it was critical that the EU applied restrictions on fishing efforts within the area and vital that the Irish Box be maintained as the biologically sensitive zone in the interests of sustainability of stocks.