Main navigation

Prime Minister announces Strategy Unit study into the UK fishing industry (27/3/2003)

The Prime Minister has asked the Strategy Unit to examine the medium to long-term challenges facing the UK's fishing industry. The project will aim to develop a long-term strategy for a sustainable sea fishing industry in the UK.

The strategy will take into account the need for sustainable management of marine resources within the wider European context, the diverse and changing circumstances of the fishing industry, and the social and economic development of communities that depend on fishing.

The Fisheries Minister, Elliot Morley, will be the sponsor minister for the project.

He said: 'Sustainable management of UK fisheries will only be successful if we harness the expertise of the industry, scientists and the NGO community. The project will actively consult with all stakeholders to reach a shared vision for a sustainable future which optimises the value we get from the marine fisheries resources available to us.'

The project team, will work closely with the fisheries departments: the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government, and the Northern Ireland Office, as well as Scotland Office, Wales Office, No. 10, and other key government departments.

Notes for editors

1. At a meeting with representatives of the UK fishing industry the Prime Minister agreed on the need for a project setting out options for the fishing industry for the next five-to-10 years.

• The final report - which is intended to be completed by December 2003 - will analyse the current situation facing the fishing industry and map out options for the future.
• The Strategy Unit provides the Prime Minister and Government departments with a capacity to analyse major cross-cutting and strategic policy issues and to design solutions to problems.
• It was formed following a merger of the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU), the Prime Minister's Forward Strategy Unit, and parts of the Policy Studies Directorate of the Centre for Management and Policy Studies in July 2002.
• The fisheries departments are: the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government, and the Northern Ireland Office.

Cabinet Office Press Office 70 Whitehall LONDON SW1A 2AS
Tel: 020 7276 1203 - Fax: 020 7276 0618
http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/

Out of hours telephone 07699 113300 and ask for pager number 721338.
Cabinet Office press notices are available on the World Wide Web: http://www.gnn.gov.uk/