§ Mr. Onslowasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he makes of the danger posed by monofilament drift nets in coastal areas to seabirds; and what steps he takes to monitor the numbers of birds entangled and killed by such nets.
§ Mr. GummerWe keep all fishing activities under scrutiny in the course of our surveillance of fisheries. I am aware that fishing nets of any kind occasionally trap and drown sea birds. The evidence available to me suggests that such losses are small and do not endanger populations of sea birds.