§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to review the effect of the recently introduced restrictions in catching opportunities imposed on the Scottish inshore fleet by the recent EC tie-up scheme; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythMonitoring of the uptake of the United Kingdom quotas is carried out by Fisheries Departments as a matter of course throughout the year. We will continue to monitor the effects of the requirement for vessels to remain in port for eight consecutive days per month. In addition, discussions have now been concluded successfully with the European Commission to enable fishermen to use more selective fishing gear as an alternative to remaining in port.