§ Mr. Henderson Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total number of serviceable herring drifters in each of the years 1933 and 1937; and what number of drifters does he estimate as likely to be withdrawn from service through old age or general inability to follow the fishing during the next six years?
Mr. Wedderburn:The number of Scottish steam drifters on the register in 1933 and 1937 were 733 and 459 respectively. Information is not available as to the number of vessels which were not fully serviceable in these years.
In regard to the second part of the question, the useful life of a steam drifter depends so largely on a variety of factors, including maintenance and periodical repair, that it is not possible to give any reliable estimate of the number of vessels likely to be withdrawn from service during the period specified.