§ 2.5 p.m.
§ LORD BOOTHBYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any conclusions have been reached by the Herring Committee of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea as to the causes of the dearth of herring in the North Sea in recent years.
THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD (EARL WALDEGRAVE)No, my Lords. This is a complex subject, and the investigations of this Committee are not finished. The Committee set up a Working Group in October, 1960, with instructions
to make a detailed appraisal of all existing data on stock separation and identity for the North Sea herring populations and on the effect of fishing on these herring stocks".The work of the Group is therefore directed to the question which the noble Lord has raised, and we are all conscious that it is important to get an answer to it as soon as we can. But it is undeniably a difficult problem and I understand that the report of the Group may not be ready until next year.
§ LORD BOOTHBYMy Lords, in the meantime, will the noble Earl give an assurance that Her Majesty's Government will direct the attention of this Committee to the importance of the examination of the trawling of immature stocks of herring for what is called 596 "industrial fishing"—namely, for conversion into oil and meal?
EARL WALDEGRAVEYes, my Lords. I think this is one of the matters that they are undoubtedly looking into; and, of course, we have British scientists working on this Committee.