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		Europe Sounds Last Orders for Traditional British Fish and Chips Wednesday, 13 November 2002 The Great British Tradition of Cod and Chips straight from the North Sea could soon become a thing of the past if recommendations in a report from the Advisory Committee on Fisheries Management are implemented by Brussels, warns East Midlands MEP Roger Helmer. In a recently published Report, the Advisory Committee, part of the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), recommends a complete halt to cod fishing in the North and Irish Seas. In an effort to conserve the dwindling numbers of fish, the report also recommends a closure of haddock, whiting and prawn fisheries where cod is caught as a 'by-catch'. Commenting on the potential impact of this proposal for Britain's traditional dish Roger Helmer MEP said, "If Europe implements the proposals in this report, we can all kiss goodbye to eating Cod caught in British waters. This is bad news, but even more serious is the impact the proposals would have on what remains of Britain's fishing fleet. They would be catastrophic, resulting in the loss of up to 20,000 jobs and a £1 billion loss to the UK economy. Fish and Chips are as British as the Queen, and it would be outrageous if Brussels were to effectively make them a thing of the past. It was bad enough that we had to stop eating out of newspapers, this really is a step too far."