Mr President, I am grateful for the support I had in producing this report. As I indicated in the earlier debate, it is a technical report. Sometimes it requires a bit of knowledge to get to the bottom of the problem. Thanks also to the Commission. To some extent we are dealing with the issue of Box 7(A) in the Irish Sea, which has been closed off at times recently, in cooperation with the fishermen. I certainly welcome that. Discussions were based on the debate about what happened in the North Sea. That area was also closed when the Norwegians were working on the project, and scientists came forward with new conclusions that did not affect the industry. This report also helps French fishermen. It operates in conjunction with the cod recovery plan in the Irish Sea. Everyone accepts now that there is a problem of cod stocks. No one has been able to agree on how you work towards their recovery, however. I certainly hope this study and the proposals that come forward will, in conjunction with the fishermen, help the fishing industry, the fleet and those who actually work at sea. To a large extent this report is technical, as I have said. It involves the difference between a 4mm thick double twine that is equivalent to a 6mm thick single twine on the cod-ends on the actual net that catches the fish. I hope the scientists are right and that this improves. We all have to accept that this is about the protection of juvenile cod in the Irish Sea. I hope it is successful. If stocks are to recover then the juveniles have to be allowed to mature and develop if the industry is to recover. One area I am encouraged about is the fact that there is better cooperation and dialogue between the Commission and those involved in the industry. That must be welcomed by everyone. We all have a part to play in this: fishermen, the Member States, scientists, and the Commission. Each has to know where the other is coming from if we are going to succeed. Everyone has to cooperate if we are to succeed. I would like the Commissioner here tonight to confirm that this cooperation is working to the maximum and as well as he would wish. Perhaps he could suggest ways of improving that, especially in the months ahead when, near Christmas, we decide what the TACs and quotas are for those areas and are bound to face grave difficulties. The Commissioner may be aware that for the last two years the Irish Sea has been closed at spawning time to aid stock recovery. Fishermen in that area have cooperated fully, as they have this year about the North Sea. Do these new methods have an effect? Can you tell us that the desired effect has been achieved, as far as the scientists are concerned? There is growing realism that there is a problem. But are we on the way to solving that problem? Have we got the right methods and mechanisms in place to resolve it? All these new measures create extra costs, at a time when we have reduced fishing and have a fleet that is, to some extent, in financial difficulty. We seriously require support through the industry: decommissioning, a reduction in size of the fishing fleet and fishing time so that we can at least leave those left in the industry some hope of survival. I hope, Commissioner, you will encourage the cooperation that is required. It has come about to achieve this technical agreement. I hope that you will encourage cooperation between your staff, scientists and those involved in the industry. That is the way forward.

Political group: PPE-DE