§ Mr. SternTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food approximately how many salmon are now fished from the River Severn and its tributaries.
§ Mr. CurryStatistics provided by the former Severn Trent water authority and the National Rivers Authority are published annually by my Department. Catches of salmon in the River Severn catchment for the last five years for which figures are available are given in the table.
1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Method of capture Rod and line 545 1,256 1,254 929 1,362 Commercial instruments 3,376 1,651 3,300 2,963 3,511 TOTAL 3,921 2,907 4,553 3,892 4,873