§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research is being done on the biological effects of present and anticipated modifications in the marine environment.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsThe understanding of the biological effects of modifications in the marine environment requires a sound knowledge of the biological régime in the oceans and the factors influencing it. This is the central objective of much of the marine biological research supported by the Natural Environment Research Council at marine laboratories and at universities and also, in the context of fisheries resources, of research carried out at the Fisheries Laboratories of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland.
Particular projects within this general objective include the work of the Marine 98W Biological Association on the biological effects of oil pollution and of the Fisheries Laboratories on the effects of discharge of effluents and radio-active wastes in coastal areas.