§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what assistance he has agreed to give to the purchase or building of fisheries protection vessels to be operated by the River Tweed Commissioners.
§ Mr. William RossNone. My contribution in this area is through the enforcement services of my Department.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many violations of fishing limits, overfishing or other malpractices, were detected by the fishery protection vessels operating by his Department during 1975.
§ Mr. William RossThe Department's vessels detected 58 alleged offences during 1975. Details are as follows:
Illegal trawling within the three-mile limit 33 Illegal seining within the three-mile limit 4 Undersized nets 2 Immature Sea Fish 2 Contraventions of the Collision Regulations 13 Contraventions of the Fishing Boats Registry Order 4 No violation of the six- and 12-mile limits by foreign vessels was detected.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patrols and for what duration were carried out by fishery protection vessels operated by his Department during 1975.
§ Mr. William RossEighty-one patrols, varying in duration between six and 20 days, were carried out by my Department's vessels during 1975.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patrols of
Recommended Crewing Vessel Gross Tonnage Maximum Speed Knots Deck Officers Engineer Officers Ratings Jura … … 892 16½ 4 4 16 Westra … … 885 16½ 4 4 17 Norma … … 580 15 3 3 15 Brenda … … 412 15 3 3 15 Switha … … 573 12½ 4 4 17 Vigilant … … 209 13½ 3 3 8 "Jura" has been on loan to the Ministry of Defence since 3rd March 1975 and "Westra" was commissioned on 12th February 1975.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of the fishery protection service during 1975.
332Wfishery protection vessels operated by his Department were cancelled during 1975; and for what reasons.
§ Mr. William RossSix; five cancellations were due to crewing difficulties and one to repairs.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many alleged violations of fishing limits or overfishing were reported to his Department during 1975; and how many prosecutions ensued and with what results.
§ Mr. William RossTwo reports were received alleging that foreign vessels were fishing illegally within United Kingdom limits. No detections were made arising out of these reports. Eighty-three complaints were received alleging that vessels were trawling, seining, or otherwise fishing illegally within the three mile limit. In all instances the allegations referred specifically or by inference to United Kingdom vessels. The Department referred seven cases and private individuals referred 11 cases to the Procurator Fiscal. Nine cases have resulted in convictions and the imposition of fines; eight are under consideration and in one case the Procurator Fiscal decided that the evidence did not warrant further proceedings.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the number of fishery protection vessels operated by his Department during 1975, indicating gross tonnage, maximum speed and recommended crewing in each case.
§ Mr. William RossThe information requested is given in the following table.
§ Mr. William RossThe cost of the fishery protection service operated by my Department during 1975 was approximately £1,311,000. This figure covers 333W the normal running costs of the vessels, crewing, and an estimate of the management and administrative costs, together with the sum of £321,000, which fell due for payment in 1975, towards the cost of fleet replacement.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied that the fishery protection service is adequately equipped and manned to carry out its duties.
§ Mr. William RossI consider that the staffing and equipment are adequate to carry out the duties of the service to the extent that is economically justified.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the purpose of the fishery protection service; and what standards he applies to determine whether the service is operating effectively.
334W
§ Mr. William RossThe main purposes of the service are to deter foreign fishing vessels from fishing illegally within the 12-mile limit and to deter fishermen of any nationality from infringing regulations which bear directly on fish conservation. The service has secondary rôles, including gathering information on the operations of fishing fleets, assisting with the control of oil pollution, and safety and rescue work. The rarity of any specific reports from our own fishermen of foreign vessels fishing illegally and the absence, with one exception, of detections by our patrols of any foreign infringements suggests that the service is generally effective as regards foreign encroachment. I do not regard the total enforcement of detailed inshore fishery regulations against our own fishermen at all times and places as a practicable objective.