§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the accurancy of the 1990 declarations made by Scottish fishing vessels as to catches of cod made in or attributed to area VII; and what steps are taken to ensure that arrangements for the accurate declaration in log books of fish catches in area VII are being complied with.
§ Mr. LangLandings by Scottish fishing vessels of cod recorded as having been caught in International Council
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Region1 October2 1979 1980 1981 1982 Shetland 227 273 404 567 Western Isles 927 1,346 1,674 2,292 1 Regional totals are aggregates of jobcentre areas. 2 Figures are not adjusted for seasonal variation. for the Exploration of the Seas area VII are being investigated and currently six cases are being prepared for submission to the prosecuting authorities. Inquiries are continuing in respect of a number of additional cases where some evidence of misreporting exists.
Log books are examined when fishing vessels are boarded and at the end of each fishing trip when a copy of the log book pages are handed in to the local fishery office. Checks are made to ensure that the entries are compatible with the catch on board or landed and are consistent with any sightings of the vessel while it was at sea.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will name the Scottish fishing vessels which claim to have entered area VII and caught cod fish since 1 January; and if he will list separately those which were(a) at the limit of their quota or (b) had not filled their quota for cod fishing in areas VIa or IV.
§ Mr. LangNo. It would not be appropriate to name individual vessels in the manner requested. Under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1984 information about an individual data subject cannot be disclosed, except in a limited number of circumstances, without that subject's consent.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements exist for identifying the names of fishing vessels that use the Caledonian canal from either east to west or west to east.
§ Mr. LangAll vessels which pass through the Caledonian canal are logged by the canal office of the British Waterways Board.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will set up an inquiry into misdeclaration by Scottish fishing vessels of cod catches since January.
§ Mr. LangThe circumstances which have given rise to allegations of misreporting of cod catches by Scottish fishing vessels are being investigated.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions Department of 217W Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland officials have (a) witnessed fishing vessels either registered or based at Scottish ports enter into area VII or leave area VII either in anticipation of a catch or with a catch on board and (b) sighted Scottish fishing vessels within area VII.
§ Mr. LangThe Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland is responsible for patrolling only that part of ICES area VII which is adjacent to the south-west coast of Scotland. Aerial surveillance during April, May and June 1990 identified six Scottish fishing vessels in that area.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions Scottish fishing vessels have entered into area VII since 1 January.
§ Mr. LangThe information on entry to ICES area VII is not available in the form requested. However, records show that Scottish vessels which landed fish (of all species) into Scotland from ICES area VII have made a total of 446 trips to that area since 1 January 1990. Many Scottish fishermen traditionally fish area VII.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state which fishing vessels reported to DAFS at Scrabster their movements(a) in a westerly direction across the 4 deg W line since 1 January and (b) in an easterly direction across the 4 deg W line since 1 January.
§ Mr. LangIt is assumed that the question relates to vessels making radio reports to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. These reports were made to Ullapool or Aberdeen rather than to Scrabster. A total of 1,649 reports were received in the period 1 January to 30 June 1990. Of these, 887 were from vessels proceeding east to west, 731 from west to east and 31 from vessels fishing close to the 4 deg W line.
In the same period 24 vessels which were unable to make radio reports called in to Scrabster voluntarily. Of these 15 were heading west and nine were heading east.
The large number of vessels involved precludes listing them individually.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what catches were recorded by Scottish vessels from ICES area VIId, VIIb and VIIc in June.
§ Mr. LangLandings into Scotland by Scottish vessels during June for ICES areas VIIb and VIIc were as follows. No landings from area VlId were recorded in June by Scottish vessels.
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Area VIIb Area VIIc Species 1 Tonnes landed 1 Tonnes landed Cod 135 1 Haddock 24 20 Plaice 18 — Whiting 9 — Saithe 102 — Catfish 1 1 Dabs 1 — Dogfish 3 — Ling 1 1 Megrims 3 3 Monkfish 12 5 Skate 1 1 1 Rounded to the nearest tonne.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the incidence of calling in in respect of Scottish vessels landing at each Scottish port in June 1989 and June 1990 broken down by length of vessel.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 23 July 1990]: It is assumed that the question refers to calling in vessels for inspection, when crossing the 4 deg line. No vessels were called into port for physical inspection in either June 1989 or June 1990.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of Slate for Scotland (1) how many Scottish vessels landing area VII catches at Peterhead failed to radio in;
(2) what was the average number of days at sea per trip recorded for June in respect of Scottish vessels landing at Peterhead having declared fishing in sea area VII;
(3) how many Scottish vessels landing area VII catches at Peterhead in June had radioed in; and what percentage were physically summoned for inspection.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 23 July 1990]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Glanford and Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 20 July.
§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will order a full investigation into the effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland monitoring of fish landings; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 23 July 1990]: As I have already indicated to the hon. Member, urgent consideration is being given to fisheries enforcement procedures, in the light of recent developments.