WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1395/96 by Leen van der WAAL to the Commission. Rapid depletion of the plaice quota
Date: 1996-06-06
Institutions: European Parliament, VAN DER WAAL
Subjects: Netherlands, Norway, authorised catch, catch quota, fishing agreement, fishing controls, fishing fleet, sea fish













EUR-Lex - 91996E1395 - EN






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91996E1395

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1395/96 by Leen van der WAAL to the Commission. Rapid depletion of the plaice quota  


Official Journal C 365 , 04/12/1996 P. 0005 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1395/96 by Leen van der Waal (EDN) to the Commission (6 June 1996)Subject: Rapid depletion of the plaice quotaThe Reformatorisch Dagblad of 20 April announced that during the past three months the Netherlands fishing fleet had caught 10% more plaice than in the same period last year. Combined with the drastic reduction of the plaice TAC this has resulted in the Netherlands fishermen having already caught 38% of their plaice quota, despite the fact that the sector has itself restricted its fishing activities, with 24% fewer days at sea than in the same period last year.1. Can the Commission confirm this information?2. Can the Commission indicate whether depletion of plaice is in line with the expectations of biologists (expressed as catches per day at sea)?3. Is the Commission willing to step up research into trends in plaice stocks and to produce a report on this subject by the summer?4. Does the Commission share my view that there must be an interim increase in the plaice quota if the research referred to above indicates that fish stocks are better than expected so that fishermen do not have to cope with major social and economic problems unnecessarily?5. Under what conditions will the Commission reconsider the agreement with Norway to reduce the plaice TAC for 1997 by 20%?Answer given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission (3 July 1996)According to the official landings data received by the Commission, the Netherlands fleet had landed 12 777 tonnes of plaice by the end of March, 14.6% less than the corresponding figure for 1995 (14 964 tonnes).Landings in the first quarter of 1996 constitute 37.4% of the quota allocated to the Netherlands. In the same period of 1995, landings made up 33.9% of the total landings for the year. While admitting that comparison of these figures indicates a slightly higher rate of fishing in 1996, the difference is however small and lies within the range of expected year-to-year variability of fishing activities. No significant deviations become evident, therefore, as regards scientists' forecasts. Examination of rates of quota consumption by the end of April and for the whole Community lead to similar conclusions.In any case, the Commission is ready to intensify its follow-up of the evolution of catch rates during the whole year. Should it appear that the likely effects of fishing by the end of the year will deviate substantially from the management objectives pursued by the Council in its Regulation (EC) No 3074/95 of 22 December 1995 ((OJ L 330, 30.12.1995. )), the Commission will consider the possibility of a revision of the total allowable catches (TAC) for 1996. This will inevitably require consultation with Norway, in the framework of our agreements on reciprocal fishing rights.