LONDON (LNS) - A locally produced fish delicacy must pay £15,000 simply to apply for product protection and then face possible international legal objections before it can call the "Arbroath Smokie" its own, Angus Scottish Nationalist MP Michael Weir told the Commons Wednesday June 18. Such conditions prevent small producers from protecting local product names in the face of large-scale competitors, who market imitations under the same or similar names, Mr. Weir told the Commons in a half-hour debate at the close of the day's sitting. At issue was the status of the Arbroath Smokie, a wood-smoked haddock produced in family smoke-houses on the Scottish east coast town of Arbroath in Angus. Said Mr. Weir: "Drafting, submitting and pursuing an application costs £15,000 in staff alone. No small amount is involved; it is almost impossible for a small producer to afford to register," he said. "My question is whether the government could consider helping to fund them?" Said Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael: "The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs officials are working closely with in the devolved administrations to attract more applications. The Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly have been working to use the European scheme. The minister also pointed to seven successful registrations from Scotland, Orkney Beef, Orkney Lamb, Scottish Beef, Scottish Lamb, Shetland Lamb, Bonchester Cheese and Teviotdale Cheese. "That list excludes the Arbroath Smokie," he said. "Compared to other countries, the United Kingdom has some 31 successful registrations, France has 127 and Italy has 117. We are at the halfway point. "The French have a well-established system for registering food names -- 'Appellation Contrôlée.' That explains why so many French products now benefit from the EU scheme," the minister said. But Mr. Weir said poor Scottish producers face enormous bureaucratic obstacles to protect product names from big rich producers. "Fish processors in other parts of the U.K. have tried to use the name of the Arbroath Smokie to sell their own inferior products," he said. Mr. Weir told of the bureaucracy involved. "After the application has been drafted, it must go to the Environment and Rural Development Department of the Scottish Executive, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and then the European Commission. It can take 18 months." "It takes six months before the European Commission issues a decision and details of the product are published in the Official Journal of the European Commission. "Then [there is] a further six months to allow other member states and EU producers to object. If objections are received, there can be a further three-month period to allow EU states to solve the problem," Mr. Weir said. Said Mr. Michaels: "It is right the process should have time for objections, and that once a product is designated, it means something. The timetable includes an opportunity for producers to object to unfair designations. "It is worth noting that the scheme may not be suitable for all our regional food and drink products, because [they] do not meet the criteria or because producers do not wish to register them," he said. Legislative News Service