§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will name the foreign countries which have traditional rights to fish within Scottish fishing limits; and how many are availing themselves of these rights.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellTraditional fishing rights for various species up to six miles from coasts and baselines are with minor exceptions held by countries which are members of EEC. West and south of Cape Wrath these rights are, therefore, superseded by the general right of all EEC countries to fish in this zone for all species. East and south of Cape Wrath, where the EEC treaty maintains the 12 mile limit, Germany and the Netherlands retain traditional rights to fish for herring up to six miles each of Fair Isle, and Belgium to fish all demersal species up to six miles from the Moray Firth coast and the north coast between Cape Wrath and Strathy Point. All the countries avail themselves of these rights to some extent.