§ Mr. Onslowasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will introduce controls over the import of uneviscerated fish of the salmon family; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerMy right hon. Friend, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has today laid before Parliament the Importation of Salmonid Viscera Order 1986, made under the Animal Health Act 1981. This order comes into effect on 1 February 1987 and prohibits imports into Great Britain of uneviscerated dead salmonids and salmonid viscera, except under licence.
The order strengthens our existing controls on imports under the Diseases of Fish Acts 1937 and 1983 to prevent the intoduction of certain serious fish diseases, notably viral haemorrhagic septicaemia and infectious haematopoietic necrosis to our farmed and wild fish stocks.
General licences to permit individual countries to continue exports to Great Britain of salmon and trout "in the round" will be considered only where a country can satisfactorily demonstrate the absence of VHS and IHN from its waters and also operate its own controls on imports of uneviscerated salmonids so as to prevent fish from an unacceptable source entering Great Britain through the "back door".