§ Lord KENNETasked Her Majesty's Government:
What tonnage of fish that has been caught in British or Community waters has been conveyed to Soviet ships; whether any duty or subsidy is payable on it; and how it is measured for statistical purposes.
§ Lord STRABOLGIThere are no export refunds or levies payable on fresh fish transhipped to third country vessels. Under the mackerel licensing scheme introduced on 17th September 1977 there are special arrangements for monitoring transhipments; and it is estimated that since the scheme began nearly 40,000 tonnes of mackerel have been transhipped, much of it to Soviet and other Easternbloc vessels. I regret that any further information is not available.