§ 18. Mr. Edwin Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will seek power to ensure that more salmon and trout fishing, at a reasonable charge, is made available in Scotland for visitors from England and Wales and from abroad.
§ Mr. WillisExcellent fishing is already available to visitors at very reasonable charges in many places in Scotland, but my right hon. Friend is aware of the increasing demand for angling facilities, and he will bear this in mind when deciding what action to take on the Hunter Committee Report on Scottish salmon and trout fisheries.
§ Mr. WainwrightIn view of that Answer, will my hon. Gentleman give the assurance that he is satisfied in regard to the removal of pollution from Scottish rivers? Will he do more to ensure that Scottish rivers are stocked with trout and salmon? Will he ensure that the riparian owners do not put too great a restriction on people wanting to visit Scotland for fishing purposes?
§ Mr. WillisWe are concerned about the pollution of rivers, but the purification boards are doing a good job of work here, although there is a considerable amount more still to be done. On the question of riparian owners and trout fishing, I do not know whether my hon. Friend knows what the position is in Scotland regarding trout fishing. The position is that a person can fish for trout in Scotland without a licence. The riparian owner can take an interdict against him, but that is rather a long and tedious process.
§ Mr. StodartAs the hon. Gentleman has just mentioned the Hunter Report, can he state what the state of consideration at the moment is? Two years ago he said that it was urgent. A year ago he said that it was very urgent. Is it now very, very, urgent?
§ Mr. WillisIt is still very urgent. There is a later Question on the Order Paper on this subject tabled by one of my hon. Friends. It would be more courteous to say more at that stage.