§ The Earl of Kimberleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
(1) Why the figures for the weight of salmon caught by the Northumbrian drift-net fisheries for 1984 are not published, when the Northumbrian fisheries officer Mr. Stannard states the figures have been available for some time; and
(2) Whether they will confirm that the total reported catch for 1984 was approximately 50.000 salmon.
§ Lord BelsteadWater authority statistics of salmon catches are normally first published in their annual reports in the October of the following year, but are available on request as soon as all the relevant returns have been received and collated.
We understand from the Northumbrian Water Authority that the recorded number of salmon taken in their area by both drift and inshore nets in 1984 was 50,685 fish, weighing 183,840 kilogrammes. This total has only just been confirmed, having been held up by a late return.