§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the findings of the recent research report to the Nature Conservancy Council on the effects of mechanised shellfish harvesting on the conservation of wildlife in the Solway.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 5 April 1990]: This report was prepared for the Nature Conservancy Council. I await its considered views and advice on the matter.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secrsetary of State for Scotland what proposals he has to control or prohibit potentially damaging operations in estuaries for the purposes of meeting Her Majesty's Government's obligations under the Ramsar convention on the conservation of wetlands of international importance.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 5 April 1990]: Sites selected for designation under the Ramsar convention will have previously been notified as sites of special scientific interest by the Nature Conservancy Council. They are protected under sections 28 and 29 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 against those potentially damaging operations specified by the council.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what provisions currently exist to control mechanised shellfish harvesting in areas which meet the criteria for protection under the EC directive on the conservation of wild birds.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 5 April 1990]: Mechanised shellfish harvesting may be controlled through byelaws made by the Nature Conservancy Council in those areas which are national nature reserves. Local authorities have similar byelaw-making powers to control access in other areas.
§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will indicate the seaward limit of sites of special scientific interest notified in accordance with section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 5 April 1990]: I will write to the hon. Member.