HC Deb 04 March 1908 vol 185 cc677-8
MR. MORTON (Sutherland)

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that a company has commenced the erection of a whaling station on the Island of Arran- more, Donegal; whether he is aware that where whaling stations have been established herring and other fisheries, have been ruined; and whether he will refuse to permit the construction and use of the proposed whaling station at Arranmore.

The following Question on the same subject also appeared on the Paper:

MR. HUGH LAW

To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the proposed establishment of whaling stations at Arranmore and elsewhere on the coast of Donegal; whether he is aware that the modern methods of whaling, wherever whaling stations have been established, have resulted in the destruction of the herring and other fisheries; whether he is aware that the livelihood of 20,000 fishermen on the coast of Donegal and the adjoining islands is dependent on the preservation and extension of the existing fisheries; and whether seeing that the proposed stations cannot be erected without encroachment on the foreshore, the Board of Trade will refuse its assent to the erection of any whaling stations on the coast of Donegal.

MR. LLOYD-GEORGE

As this Question and that of the hon. Member for West Donegal relate to the same matter, I may, perhaps, be allowed to deal with them together. The Board of Trade have received an application from the Arranmore Whaling Company, Limited, for permission to construct certain works on the foreshore and seabed of Arran Island, county Donegal. In accordance with their usual practice the Board of Trade have given instructions for the application to be advertised and several objections have already been received. These and any other representations will receive careful consideration, and we are also consulting the Irish Government in the matter, as the possible serious effect of the operations of a whaling station upon the local herring and other fisheries is a matter for the consideration of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland. As the time fixed by the advertised notice for receiving objections has not yet expired, I am not yet in a position to state what the decision of the Board will be.