§ Mr. A. T. DAVIESasked the Minister of Agriculture whether a decision has been taken to suspend herring-fishing along the East Coast for a month; and what effect, if any, will this have on employment, particularly on the Scottish coast?
Mr. ADAMSONI have been asked to reply, as Scotland is mainly concerned in the early part of the summer fishing. A voluntary arrangement has been come to by herring fishermen and curers to defer the opening of the summer herring-fishing on the East Coast of Scotland and at Shetland until the beginning of June, in order to avoid the capture of immature herrings, for which there is not a remunerative demand. I understand that in the opinion of the trade any temporary loss of employment during the close time will be more than compensated for by an improvement over the season as a whole.