John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the implications of a bilateral agreement on fisheries between the EU and Norway; the consequences for the fishing industry here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44032/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The EU/Norway bilateral negotiations follow on from the Coastal States Negotiations which set the over all Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for certain stocks in the Northeast Atlantic in which Ireland has an interest. The key stocks for Ireland in the Coastal States discussions are Mackerel, Blue Whiting and Atlanto-Scandian Herring.

The EU has a long-standing bilateral fisheries agreement with Norway. The agreement is implemented through annually negotiated fisheries arrangements, which allow for the setting of total allowable catches (TACs) for joint stocks, transfers of fishing possibilities, joint technical measures, and issues related to control and enforcement.

The annual EU-Norway consultations takes place over the autumn. The discussions focused on:

the setting of TACs for jointly managed stocks in the North Sea (particularly cod, haddock, saithe, whiting, plaice and herring).

receipt by the EC of Arcto-Norwegian cod in the Barents Sea. Ireland received about 255 tonnes of this stock in 2008.

Agreement between the EU and Norway has not been reached to date because of the complexity of the discussions on some technical and conservation measures, namely discards. Additionally the balancing of the transfers proved challenging as the main transfer stock Blue Whiting has seen its TAC level decrease from 1,150,000 tonnes in 2008 to 543,000 tonnes in 2009. Further negotiations is now planned for the week beginning the 8th of December.

While from an over all perspective Ireland gains little from this agreement, we have a big interest as historically we have paid disproportionately for the balancing arrangement, as Blue Whiting, the key transfer stock is an important fishery for Ireland.

Ireland has continually maintained that the present balancing arrangement is unfair and inequitable and has sought a proportionate reduction in the level of Blue Whiting transferred. The reduction in the 2009 TAC for Blue Whiting has meant that the transfer cannot be balanced by Blue Whiting alone. We have strongly argued that stocks of importance to Ireland, such as mackerel, can not form part of the transfer as we do not gain from the exchange of opportunities.

I will continue to take every opportunity, as will my officials, to ensure that Ireland's interests are protected during these negotiations. We will continue to liaise closely with Industry in this regard and will actively promote positions which will give Ireland the best possible outcome in what are difficult negotiations.