§ Mr. OnslowTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the member states of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation which
50Wstill allow monofilament drift net fishing in their waters, and those which do not, indicating in each of the latter cases, the date on which such nets were banned and the reasons given for the ban.
51W
§ Mr. Gummer[holding answer 27 October 1989]: We understand that of the nine contracting parties to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation, drift netting for salmon takes place in the USSR, Finland, the European Community and Greenland (which is represented in the organisation by Denmark as a separate contracting party for this purpose). The remaining contracting parties (Canada, USA, Iceland, Sweden and Norway) have either not used drift nets or have ceased to do so. Drift nets can be made of monofilament, multi-monofilament, or multi-filament material; we do not have definite information as to which of these types of net are used in each of the contracting parties specified although I understand that monofilament netting is in use in Greenland as well as in parts of the European Community. NASCO has made no recommendations on drift netting for salmon. We have no comprehensive records of the dates when action was taken by some contracting parties or of the reasons advanced at the time. Both are clearly matters for the contracting parties themselves.