Lord CHELWOODasked Her Majesty's Government:
What statutory obligations they were under as regards the possible risk of disease in considering the application to import Coho salmon ova: and whether they will give an assurance that they were carried out before agreeing to the import and before a licence was issued.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, SCOTTISH OFFICE (Lord Kirkhill)My right honourable friend's responsibilities in this matter derive from the Diseases of Fish Act 1937, the purpose of whichinter alia, is to prevent the import of material which might result in the spread of disease among salmon and freshwater fish. I can assure the noble Lord that before an import licence was issued in the case referred to, the health status of the imported eggs was meticulously investigated, and stringent quarantine conditions were imposed. My right honourable friend is fully satisfied with the measures being taken to prevent the escape of fish hatched from the imported eggs, or the spread of any disease organism.