There appears to be wide support for renewal.
Coastal waters have a particular importance in supporting smaller vessels and low impact fishing.
These waters support habitats for which the marine conservation requirements are often more important than in offshore waters. We recognise the success of the Sea Fisheries Committees in England and Wales in managing the territorial waters up to the six mile limit and commend this as a model for other coastal fisheries both in the rest of the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, but with the limit of jurisdiction extended to twelve miles. It is therefore important that the Green Paper addresses the specific issues which concern inshore fisheries, including the question of ensuring that there is adequate coherence between the Community's other policies which relate to coastal waters, such as the Habitats and Species Directive, the EC Biodiversity Strategy and the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. The ecosystem approach which we are advocating, particularly in the shared waters of the Irish, North and Baltic Seas, call for more, not less, collaboration between EU Member States, and between the EU and its North Atlantic neighbours, if fish stocks are to be managed effectively. A common policy of some kind is essential.