§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what information he has as to the present stocks of(a) salmon, (b) sea trout, (c) brown trout, (d) pollan, (e) perch, (f) bream and (g) pike in (i) Lough Neagh, (ii) upper Lough Erne and (iii) in lower Lough Erne; and what were the comparable figures five, 10, 20 and 30 years ago;
(2) if he will publish a table to show (a) the number and type of nets or other commercial fishing engines in freshwater lakes and rivers operating in Northern Ireland in the 1990 season, (b) the species taken by each such engine, or from each fishery and the weight of each species taken, (c) the value of such fish by species from each fishery and (d) the comparable figures for 1985, 1980 and 1970;
(3) what size of (a) salmon, (b) sea trout, (c) pollan, (d) brown trout, (e) perch, (f) bream and (g) pike could escape through the mesh of the net mesh sizes allowed for use in the commercial freshwater fisheries of Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. HanleyThe information requested is not held centrally but I will write to the hon. Gentleman when the information has been obtained and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has as to(a) the minimum, (b) the maximum and (c) the average size and weight of brown trout from Lough Neagh which spawn in the lough's catchment area; and whether such fish spawn annually or biannually.
§ Mr. HanleyThe minimum size of spawning trout corresponds to the minimum size at maturity for males. This is of the order of 20 to 25 cms in size and 5 to 6 oz in weight. No data are available on maximum or average sizes or weights. These trout tend to spawn annually.