§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of the Fishery Protection Service during 1976.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownThe cost of the Fishery Protection Service operated by my Department during 1976 was approximately £1,232,000. This figure covers the normal running costs of the vessels, crewing and an estimate of the management and administrative costs together with the sum of £44,116 which fell due for payment in 1976 towards the cost of fleet replacement.
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§ 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. Hugh D. BrownMy right hon. Friend considers that the service is adequately equipped, and to ensure that it remains so the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is commissioning the design of a new ship to replace the oldest of its offshore vessels. Throughout 1976 the service was adequately manned. Unfortunately, we now have
Vessel Gross Tonnage Maximum Speed Knots Recommended Cruising Speed Knots "Jura" … … … … … 892 16½ 12½ "Westra" … … … … … 885 16½ 12½ "Norna" … … … … … 580 15 12½ "Brenda" … … … … … 412 15 12 "Switha" … … … … … 573 12½ 11 "Vigilant" … … … … … 209 13½ 12 "Jura" was returned to my Department on 16th after being on loan to the Ministry of Defence from March 1975.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patrols, and for what duration, were carried out by his Department's fishery protection vessels during 1976.
§ Mr. Hugh D. Brown81 patrols varying in duration between six and 19 days were carried out by my Department's vessels during 1976.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patrols of fishery production vessels operated by his Department were cancelled during 1976; and for what reasons.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownTwo patrols were cancelled because of the need for urgent repairs.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many violations of fishing limits, overfishing or other malpractices were detected by his Department's fishery protection vessels during 1976.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownThe Department's vessels detected 73 alleged offences during 1976. Details are as follows:
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Illegal trawling within the limit 53 Undersized nets 1 Contravention of the Collision Regulations 10 Contraventions of Fishing Boats Registry Order 9 an unexpected shortage of deck officers which may have a temporary effect on our inshore capability. Urgent consideration is being given to dealing with the shortage.
§ Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the fishery protection vessels operated by his Department during 1976, indicating gross tonnage, maximum speed and recommended cruising speed in each case.
§ Mr. Hugh D. BrownThe information requested is given in the following table:
No violation of the six and 12-mile limits by foreign vessels was detected.