§ 126. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many new fishery protection vessels of the Royal Navy are allocated to protect Aberdeen North Sea fishing fleets; with what new scientific aids each new ship is equipped; and on how many occasions each ship has been in operation, and where, during the last six months.
§ Mr. Foley:The six ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron are operational minesweepers of the Royal Navy. As such they are fitted with the most up to date equipment to carry out their dual rôles of minesweepers and fishery protection ships. In the latter rôle, they are able to give the maximum protection to all our fishermen in the North Sea and to enforce the United Kingdom fishery limits. They are not permanently allocated to Aberdeen or any other specific fishing fleet.