HC Deb 15 May 1978 vol 950 cc56-7W
Mr. Henderson

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he was notified by the Norwegian fishing authorities (a) that the use of a "cover" over the cod end of a net is illegal and (b) of the scale of fines; and what steps he took to notify the fishing organisations.

Mr. Bishop

My Department received notice at the end of December 1976 of provisional regulations for fishing in the Norwegian economic zone, which included a prohibition on the use of restrictive net attachments, and sent these to fishing organisations early in January 1977. A complete set of the Norwegian regulations currently in force was received in January 1978 and translations were circulated to fishing organisations at the end of that month. The regulations do not specify the scale of fines.