§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the dumping of tons of herring into the River Clyde estuary due to the Government's restrictions on the size of catches, stating why the fishermen were not permitted in the special circumstances to land these fish for sale for human consumption.
§ Mr. YoungerThere were no Government restrictions on the size of catches during the course of the Clyde herring fishery.
The fishery began on 4 June on the understanding, which was fully accepted by the industry, that the catch in 1979 would not be allowed to exceed the total allowable catch of 2,000 tonnes recommended by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Licences 641W were suspended by my Department on 18 October when this limit was reached.
The day-to-day management of the fishery was in the hands of the Scottish fishermen's organisation and was not a matter for the Government. The organisation adjusted the daily quota allowed per boat to meet the requirements of the market and having regard to the level of the fishery. Under these arrangements a catch taken in excess of a boat's daily quota could be landed and sold by the organisation, with the catch counting against the total allowable catch. There was, therefore, no requirement on a boat to dump any part of its catch so long as the total allowable catch for the year had not been taken.