§ 46. Mr. James Johnsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied with the results of fishery protection after the first year's operations within extended limits; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BishopDuring 1977, protection vessels of the Royal Navy and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland carried out 1,841 boardings of fishing vessels within British fishery limits: 1,546 of these boardings were of foreign vessels. The Fisheries Inspectorates also checked fishing vessels' catch and gear in port: these checks mainly concerned United Kingdom fishing vessels. During 1977, 52 skippers of United Kingdom fishing vessels and 42 skippers of foreign fishing vessels were convicted of offences against United Kingdom fisheries regulations.
Aerial surveillance, mainly by RAF Nimrods, has provided valuable information on fishing activity within our limits, and this has been an important factor in planning the deployment of the surface vessels. While we are broadly satisfied we continue to keep the arrangements under review.