§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what scientific studies have been completed or are in hand to assess the alleged damage done to salmon, trout and migratory trout stocks by (a) cormorants, (b) red breasted mergansers and (c) goosanders in Scottish lochs and rivers; and if he will publish any investigations into this subject that have been carried out by his officials.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland published papers in 1962 and 1965 in the freshwater and salmon fisheries research series entitled respectively "The Goosander and Red-Breasted Merganser as Predators of Salmon in Scottish Waters" and "The Distribution and Food of the Cormorant in Scottish Waters." These publications assessed the effects of those species on Atlantic salmon and trout in Scotland. Scientific studies of the damage done to salmon, trout and migratory trout stocks by cormorants, red-breasted mergansers and goosanders in Scotland would be lengthy and expensive and no such research is in progress or planned.