§ Mr. Townendasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive the report from the Salmon Advisory Committee on the influence of predators, including seals, on salmon stocks.
§ Mr. Gummer[pursuant to his reply, 9 March 1987. c. 89]: As I explained in my reply to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on 21 November 1986, we asked the Salmon Advisory Committee, in its early stages, to examine, first, the availability of information on the status of salmon stocks in Great Britain and, secondly, influences on the level of those stocks, including predators. The committee met for the first time on 26 February, when it held a preliminary examination of the first of these issues. It will meet again on 7 April to continue this examination. The committee will report on the various stages of its work as they are completed. As the committee's work has only just started and the issues are complex it would not be reasonable to forecast completion dates at this stage.