§ Mr. OnslowTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what advice he has received from the advisory committee on salmon stocks about the genetic danger to wild salmon stocks that is likely to result from the release or escape of farmed salmon into the wild environment; and what was the first date of any such advice.
§ Mr. Ian LangFisheries Ministers have not asked the Salmon Advisory Committee to provide advice or recommendations on the subject of possible genetic interaction between farmed salmon and wild salmon stocks. Informally the chairman of the Salmon Advisory Committee has drawn attention to the possible relevance of work of the Nature Conservancy Council in this field to codes of practice on restocking salmon rivers. This subject is not, however, one which we have specifically asked the Salmon Advisory Council to include in its already extensive programme of work.