§ 36. Mr. de Freitasasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the effect of the trawler officers' strike on the supplies of fish on the home market.
Mr. VaneThe strike is now confined to trawlers at Grimsby, and other ports are not affected. Grimsby trawlers normally furnish under a quarter of our total landings. Supplies will be landed, though at a declining rate, for the next week or so by trawlers already at sea. In addition, there are foreign landings, imports, and stocks of frozen fish.
§ Mr. de FreitasIs the Minister aware that the strike has very little official support at the ports but the people at the ports, the owners and the crews, all join in condemning the Government for the way they handled the concessions to Iceland? If there is a shortage in the shops, will not the blame lie fairly and squarely on the Government?
§ Mr. CroslandWill the Minister bear in mind that, damaging as this strike is, it is the consequence of a wave of emotion and anger against the terms of the Icelandic settlement? Will he, above all, at any rate keep in touch with his right hon. Friend the Minister of 479 Labour lest at any time the services of his Department can be used in mediation?
Mr. VaneWe are, of course, in touch. What the hon. Member says is quite true; there is an element of emotion in this strike. But I understand that the Guild has presented the trawler owners with a list of outstanding grievances, and they are all of a domestic nature.
§ Mr. Hector HughesIn view of the fact that the disturbances in the fishing industry affect so many different types of citizen ranging from the workers in the industry to consumers generally, will the hon. Gentleman set up some kind of comprehensive inquiry to deal in a comprehensive way with all the outstanding problems of the industry?
Mr. VaneSo soon after one comprehensive inquiry into the fishing industry, it would be rather unwise to contemplate another.