Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proposals she plans to submit to the European Union Council of Fisheries Ministers on 14 and 15 December 2015 to safeguard fishing effort and quotas in terms of Cod, Haddock, Hake and Nephrops in the Irish Sea (Area VIIA); and if she will make a statement.

The UK Government worked hard to get the best possible deal for UK fish stocks and our fishing industry at the annual EU Fisheries Council, where fishing opportunities for 2016 were agreed. For fisheries in the Irish Sea we secured increased quotas for haddock, Nephrops and hake, a rollover of the 2015 quota for plaice, and kept a reduction for cod in line with the scientific advice. We also ensured that “days at sea” effort levels will be maintained at the existing level for all areas of the Cod Recovery Zone, including the Irish Sea.