§ Mr. Cleggasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will consult with the Secretary of State for Scotland, with a view to introducing regulations to increase the legal size of catchable hake fish.
Mr. PearlI have consulted my right hon. Friend and we are arranging for a scientific assessment of the hake stocks to be made on the basis of the information at present available. We are also drawing the attention of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission to the problem with a view to obtaining better information from other countries.
We will consider in the light of this assessment whether the present regulations should be changed.