§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the action of German vessels fishing for herring in United Kingdom waters.
§ Mr. YoungerOn 10 July 1981 the fishery protection vessel "Jura" of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland detected the two West German trawlers "Kiel" and "Hannover" fishing for herring approximately eight miles north of the Butt of Lewis.
Both vessels were escorted to Stornoway where the skippers were brought before the sheriff court on Monday 13 July, for prosecution under the West Coast Herring (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 1981. They were found guilty. The sheriff ordered that the catch, of approximately 102 tonnes, should be confiscated. It was not physically possible, however, for the vessels to be berthed at Stornoway because of their size and the court therefore sold the catch back to the owners of the vessels.
There were exchanges with the Germans at ministerial and official level in London and in Bonn, in which we made clear that we saw no reason to change our view that herring fishing remained illegal in the area concerned.