§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what research has been conducted into the metabolism and depuration rate of dichlorvos in farmed salmon; and what regulations are in place to ensure that farmed salmon is not marketed within an appropriate period following treatment.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythNo research has been carried out by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland into the metabolism and depuration rate of dichlorvos in farmed salmon. The veterinary products 445W committee would require any company applying for a licence for a dichlorvos-based product to provide data of this kind for evalution. However, information in support of an application for a medicinal product licence is a matter of commercial confidentiality and its publication would be a matter for the company concerned. It is the responsibility of the user and his veterinary adviser to comply with the conditions of use stipulated for any veterinary medicinal product.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when and where the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland's marine laboratory will publish its research result on(a) the toxicity of dichlorvos to marine organisms, including phytoplankton species, copepod species and larval stages of various marine organisms and (b) the persistence of dichlorvos in the marine environment and the form in which it is dispersed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythToxicity experiments on phytoplankton and copepod species were carried out by scientists of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland's marine laboratory as preliminary "rangefinder" tests on a number of species to determine the most sensitive and therefore appropriate species for more detailed work. Subsequent detailed studies of the toxicity of dichlorvos to lobster and herring larvae have been carried out and it is hoped that reports will be published in the scientific press later this year.
No measurements of the persistence of dichlorvos in the marine environment have been carried out by scientists of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. Published work on the degradation rate of dichlorvos indicates a half-life in sea water of 6–7 days at 10–1°5c.
The marine laboratory is currently developing numerical models of the dispersion of dichlorvos away from release points in a fish farm, and field studies are planned for later this year to measure the horizontal and vertical diffusion coefficients and other hydrographic parameters required for these models. It is too early to say when this work will be sufficiently progressed to consider publication.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will issue a template for future environmental assessment statements in connection with proposed salmon farming developments to include a full marine impact statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonNo. Schedule 1 of the Environmental Assessment (Salmon Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations 1988 already provides a framework for preparing environmental statements including the assessment of the effect of the proposed development on the marine environment.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to ensure that the environmental assessment statement submitted to the Crown Estate Commissioners by Marine Harvest Ltd. for a proposed salmon farm development in Lamlash bay, Isle of Arran (ref. XX100/660a) meets the requirements of(a) the Environmental Assessment (Salmon Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations 1988 and (b) the European Community directive 85/337 as implemented by Statutory Instrument 1218.
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§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonWhether the require-ments of European Community Directive 85/337, as implemented by the Environmental Assessment (Salmon Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations 1988, are met is the responsibility of the Crown Estate Commissioners who are the competent authority under the regulations.