§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the answer of 17 June 1999, Official Report, columns 216–18, what is his Department's current appraisal of tonnage of discarding for gadoids, by type. [88607]
§ Mr. MorleyICES estimated for 1997 that in the North Sea (ICES reporting areas Ha and IV) some 52,000 tonnes of haddock and 17,000 tonnes of whiting were discarded. Estimates made by CEFAS on a similar basis for cod indicate discards of between 31–35,000 tonnes. The majority of these would be undersized.