§ 89. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a comprehensive statement on the steps he is taking to study the habits of dogfish, porbeagle sharks, seals and other fish which adversely affect the British fishing industry; and how successful they have been.
Mr. VaneResearch work in the Government's Fishery Laboratories includes a study of the influence which predatory and competing species may have on stocks of commercial species. This is not thought to be great. The effect of seals on fisheries is being studied jointly by the Scottish Department and by the Nature Conservancy.