§ 16. Air-Commodore Harveyasked the Minister of Food how much fish was used for manure and how much sold to the fish meal works for the months of July and August, 1949.
§ The Minister of Food (Mr. Strachey)Six thousand eight hundred tons of white fish were sent to the fish meal works in July and 3,500 tons in August. The quantity sold for manure in the two months, at ports where there are no works, was about 30 tons. In the same period about 4,500 tons of herrings were processed into oil and meal.
§ Air-Commodore HarveyDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that these figures are very high indeed, and will he say why, when this was taking place, many Icelandic trawlers were landing their catches in German ports at guaranteed prices while the British trade was suffering?
§ Mr. StracheyNo, Sir. I cannot see that there is anything wrong with us producing fish meal. In fact, many hon. Members for agricultural constituencies have urged us very strongly to produce more of it.