Tuna (Hansard, 16 July 1996)

§ Mr. Morley
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the value of the tuna landed by the Cornish driftnet boats in 1995; to which countries this tuna was exported; and what was the cost of surveillance of the albacore tuna driftnet fishery(a) in port and (b) at sea, by United Kingdom and EU authorities. [37747]

§ Mr. Baldry
In 1995, UK vessels landed a total of 196 tonnes of albacore tuna with a first sale value of £335,000. Most of the catch was either landed in, or exported to, France.
The cost to the United Kingdom of surveillance of the 1995 albacore tuna driftnet fishery at sea was approximately £0.6 million. The limited costs incurred in port have not been separately identified. Details of surveillance expenditure by the Commission and other member states are not available.

§ Mr. Morley
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what measures his Department is taking to prevent the(a) dolphin and (b) other wildlife mortalities recorded in 1995 in Cornish driftnets in the albacore tuna fishery; [37749]
(2) if his Department is funding observation of the wildlife bycatch in the United Kingdom albacore tuna driftnet fishery in 1996. [37748]

§ Mr. Baldry
Measures are again being taken both in port and at sea to ensure that the drift nets used by UK vessels in the albacore tuna fishery do not exceed the maximum legal length of 2.5 km. The Government have, in addition, encouraged the industry to leave gaps between net panels because skippers have said that these act as "dolphin doors" thereby reducing the dolphin by-catch. We have proposed to the European Commission that the rules be amended so as further to encourage the use of "dolphin doors".
The Government are funding research into the use of acoustic devices in nets to act as deterrents to marine mammals. They have also made funds available to the sea mammal research unit in the event of it being able to reach agreement with the skippers concerned to conduct further observation work on the wildlife bycatch in the UK albacore tuna drifnet fishery.