§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his best estimate of the number of fishing vessels daily fishing in the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas areas VIIa, VIIg and Vllf.
§ Mr. CurrySurveillance aircraft record all fishing vessels seen in the area patrolled. Those records relate to all fishing vessels, of whatever nationality, spotted by the aircraft within British sea fisheries limits at the time of the patrol. The records do not necessarily include very small fishing boats working close inshore.
The following shows the number of fishing vessels recorded in the areas listed on one day in each month during 1992:
Month VIIa VIIf and g January 206 30 February 61 37 March 101 44 April 88 76 May 95 47 June 103 61 July 128 54 August 93 66 September 104 43 October 125 48 November 52 41 December 91 49 There are many factors which will affect the numbers of vessels fishing on any particular day. Such factors include availability of fish, weather and the seasonality of fisheries.