§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a White Paper setting out his view of the minimum fishery limits now required to conserve herring and other fish stocks ; and if he will state what consultations he is having with the Scottish fishing industry in preparation for the Law of the Sea Conference.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellThe extension of fishery limits is not in itself an effective conservation measure, since most stocks around the United Kingdom extend beyond boundary or median lines with other countries. Our conservation policy is therefore based on multilateral negotiation. A working group representing the Scottish fishery interests is studying law of the sea questions with my Department. It is too early yet to make any statement about our proposals for the conference.