George Hollingbery – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Hollingbery on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contribution the UK made to the design and scope of emergency EU measures to manage sea bass stocks.

George Eustice

At the December Council we secured a statement that underlined the commitment of the European Commission and Member States involved in the bass fishery to take urgent action to reduce fishing pressure, protect spawning aggregations and so prevent a collapse of the stock. The Government followed up this commitment by formally requesting emergency measures to protect bass during the spawning season (January to April). The Commission has responded positively and has now tabled such a measure based on the UK request for consideration by the fisheries management committee. If adopted, the Commission regulation will come into effect on the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.