§ Mr. Prescottasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what future plans his Department has for hiring fishing vessels for the exploration of new fishing grounds;
(2) how many vessels have been chartered by his Department for exploration of new fishing grounds in the last five years; which they were; and what was their cost.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartMy Department in co-operation with the White Fish Authority recently chartered the "Swanella" to undertake exploratory work in deep water in the North-East Atlantic at a cost of some £60,000. I am considering the possibility of exploring the area further with a chartered trawler.