§ Mr. Edward Evansasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will satisfy himself that measures substantially equivalent to the licensing provisions proposed in the White Fish and Herring Industry Act have been taken by the governments of other countries interested in white fish fishing in the North Sea, before he enforces that Act on our fishermen; and to what extent it is estimated that fishing in the North Sea is being restricted as a result of all these measures.
Mr. T. WilliamsThe licensing provisions of Section 2 of the White Fish and Herring Industries Act, 1948, will not be enforced unless equivalent measures are taken by the Governments of countries interested in the North Sea. The general effect of such measures, as recommended by the Standing Advisory Committee, would be to restrict fishing power to 85 per cent. of pre-war, but as several countries have not yet signified their willingness to adopt them, they are not yet generally effective.