§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of shark numbers in the Chagos Archipelago. [50021]
§ Mr. Tony Lloyd[holding answer 20 July 1998]: I have been asked to reply.
Observations made during the 1996 Chagos Expedition, compared with earlier expeditions in the 1970s, suggest a significant decline in reef shark numbers. Sharks are not a target species for the licensed inshore fisheries. But unwanted by-catches do occur, which are monitored through log-book returns and an observer programme.