§ Mr. McTaggartTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures his Department is taking to monitor the level of contamination of fish landed at British ports; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonScientists from my Department carry out a regular monitoring programme to assess the quality of fish and shellfish in terms of contaminant concentrations. Results of this programme are published at regular intervals in aquatic environment monitoring reports which are available in the Library of the House.
The information gathered over almost 20 years has shown that levels of contaminants are low and that the quality of our fish complies fully with European Community environmental quality standards and national guidelines.