§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Wales what action his Department has taken since 1979 to counter the threat to salmon stocks from (a) illegal netting, (b) predation, (c) pollution, (d) water abstraction, and (e) poaching, respectively; and what action his Department takes to monitor salmon stocks.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsIn Wales responsibility for the control, maintenance and development of salmon fisheries is vested in the Welsh water authority by the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975. Since 1979 I have confirmed a number of byelaws made by the Welsh water authority to control salmon fishing and protect salmon stocks.
The consultation paper on the review of inland and coastal fisheries in England and Wales, published jointly in 1981 by my Department and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, recognised illegal netting and poaching as a major problem. Reactions to the paper indicated widespread support for some kind of salmon sales control scheme. Subsequently, fisheries departments have reviewed thoroughly the proposals by the salmon sales group of the National Water Council for a salmon-tagging scheme. Serious practical difficulties over the implementation of such a scheme have been identified, including control of imports, the handling of British farmed salmon and the control of tags. These difficulties and other aspects of salmon sales control remain under urgent examination, and an announcement will be made as soon as conclusions are reached.
My Department has no evidence that salmon suffer predation in Wales or in Welsh coastal waters to an extent which would justify specific action.
The Welsh water authority's statutory responsibilities require the striking of a suitable balance between its water abstraction, pollution control, fisheries and amenity functions. Where there is a game fishery, particular attention is given to ensure that discharges to the river do not adversely affect the fishery. For abstraction, the aim is to ensure that water levels do not reduce to the point where fish stocks are harmed. As part of the implementation of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, my Department, along with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has in January this year issued a booklet entitled "Code of Good Agricultural Practice," designed to minimise the risks of pollution from farming practices and to give guidance on good agricultural practice for the purposes of section 31(2)(c) of that Act.
In order to monitor salmon stocks, fisheries scientists from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food collect and collate data supplied by the water authorities relating to both restocking and catching—by all means 356W —of salmon. Data for 1983 will be published shortly in the fisheries laboratory data research series, and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.