§ Mr. Wolrige-Gordonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what was the labour force employed in the herring drift-net fleet from the North-East of Scotland in November last year;
(2) what is the present number of men employed in the herring drift-net fleet from the North-East of Scotland.
§ Mr. NoblePrecise information as to the number of men employed in the166W drift-net fleet is not available but, as I told my hon. Friend in my reply of the 11th of this, month, more than 40 of the 81 boats which were employed at drift-netting at the end of November had turned over to other forms of fishing, leaving only 30 still at drift-netting. Drifters usually have a crew of 10 and I infer that some 800 men were employed in the drifters at the end of November and some 300 are still so employed, while a large proportion of the remainder are now engaged in other forms of fishing.