§ Mr. M. MacMillanasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in any final agreement based on the Draft International Fisheries Convention proposals recently published, the closing of the Minch and the extension Northward, Southward and Westward, to 13 miles of the territorial limit for travelling around the Hebrides, will be given full consideration.
Mr. JohnstonThe purpose of the draft International Fisheries Convention is not to delimit or interfere with the existing fishing areas of the various countries concerned with the Convention, but to promote the general safety of fishing vessels and equipment and the protection of immature fish in the general interest of the various countries concerned with the preservation of the fishings. The special problems of the white fish industry in Scotland, including the problems of the in-shore fishermen, are at present being investigated by a Committee of which the hon. and gallant Member for Orkney and Shetland (Major Neven-Spence) is Chairman, and the attention of the Committee will be drawn to the implications in the hon. Member's Question.