§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from consumers about the effect on fish in the North sea of industrial pollution and waste disposal; and what response he has made.
§ Mr. CurryI receive a number of inquiries from members of the public about the safety of North sea fish for human consumption.
The waste disposal operations directly licensed by my Department are very carefully assessed to avoid adverse effects on marine life either in the short or long term. My Department carefully monitors the quality of the marine environment both round disposal sites and more generally and this includes an extensive programme of monitoring fish.
As a consequence, I am able to assure correspondents that the health of the North sea is good, that fish offered for sale from British waters are not adversely affected by pollution, that they fully comply with relevant public health standards and that they are quite safe to eat.