Fish
Farming Today - Published on: March 28, 2003
SCOTS Tory MEP Struan Stevenson has questioned why
the European Commission, which has been requested to
adopt anti-dumping measures to ensure the survival of
the EU salmon-producing industry, has done a sudden
'about-turn' and decided that anti-dumping measures
should not be proposed.
Mr Stevenson said: “In
Scotland, 7000 jobs are reliant on aquaculture, around
75 per cent of them in the Highlands and Islands.
“However, the EU’s
salmon industry has suffered four periods of extreme
volatility in the market. Unfair competition coming
from imports of salmon from countries like Norway or
the Faeroe Islands is placing the EU salmon producing
industry in a critical condition.
“The Commission has
been requested to adopt anti-dumping measures, but
Commissioner Lamy, the French Trade Commissioner, who
has a pivotal role in such measures, did a sudden
‘about turn’ and decided that anti-dumping measures
should not be proposed.
“Several Member States,
including the UK, have asked for a surveillance system
to be put in place, but I am not convinced that this
would be effective.
“Participation in the
Biomass Project, may be a more effective way of
dealing with this problem. The Project enables each
country to exchange information regularly on the
Internet. Chile & Norway have now signed up at
government level to the project and I would strongly
recommend the involvement of Scotland too.
“But whatever we decide
to do, I believe that if measures are not taken and
taken quickly the EU salmon sector will be brought to
its knees.” |
