§ 7. Mr. Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what further consideration he has given to imposing a trout protection order on the Tay system under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976.
§ Mr. John MacKayMy right hon. Friend has before him the formal proposals for a protection order, the objections and representations resulting from the advertisement of the proposals, and the views of the consultative committee on freshwater fisheries, which met recently.
§ Mr. HunterWill my hon. Friend take the opportunity to clarify the Government's attitude to the widespread concern felt about trout stock levels in the Tay, and also more generally about salmon and freshwater fish stock levels?
§ Mr. MacKayI assure my hon. Friend that we are taking this order, as we do all others, seriously. As he correctly points out, there will be a danger to the future of brown trout fishing if the current rise in various unsavoury fishing practices using set lines and the like continue.
§ Mr. CorrieDoes my hon. Friend agree that bringing in an order in one area merely puts pressure on other areas throughout Scotland? We must be careful to ensure that we do not slowly shut off some places as a result of the dreadful pressure on areas such as the south-west of Scotland.
§ Mr. MacKayMy hon. Friend has made a valid point. We have some experience of it in my constituency. But, simply because of the drawback, we should not decline to implement the Labour Government's Act and put protection orders on those parts of the country which come forward with them.
I suggest to my hon. Friend that in his part of the country the angling clubs and the owners might consider getting together and putting forward protection orders of their own.