§ 59. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the unusual dearth of salmon in northeast Scotland's fishing grounds; if he will institute an inquiry to ascertain the cause and how far it is due to the operations of the oil drills in the North-East sea; and if he will take steps to rectify it for the benefit of the fishing industry and fish consumers.
§ Mr. WillisComplete statistics of the salmon catch in the 1966 fishing season, which is still in progress, are not yet available but the catches in some areas appear to be below average. For a variety of reasons considerable fluctuations occur from year to year, but there 283W is no reason to believe that drilling for oil, which has not taken place in waters off Scotland, has had any effect whatever on the catch.