§ Mr. Joplingasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many vessels are in active use for fishing which fail to qualify for his recently announced grants relating to days spent at sea, solely because they are not sufficiently long; to which parts these vessels are attached; and how many of them at each port have received Government grants for their construction.
§ Mr. BishopThe purpose of the temporary aid for the fishing industry, as I stated, is to avoid radical contraction of the fleet leading to permanent structural damage. These considerations do not apply to vessels under 40 ft. in length. The figures for vessels at each of the main ports under 40 ft. in length are published in the Sea Fisheries Statistics 1973, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. To extract data as to how many vessels at each main port have received Government grants for their construction would involve disproportionate effort.