HC Deb 30 October 1989 vol 159 cc71-2W
Mr. Onslow

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he is giving to the implementation of the recommendations of the Nature Conservancy Council's report of August on the genetic impact of farmed Atlantic salmon on wild salmon stocks.

Mr. Lang

[holding answer 27 October 1989]: The Nature Conservancy Council's report is a valuable contribution to the increasing body of work on the genetics of farmed and wild salmon.

DAFS fisheries scientists are already studying various aspects of the genetic relationships in farmed and wild salmon populations in Scotland. Scottish fisheries research report No. 42, "Genetic Protein Variation in Farmed Atlantic Salmon in Scotland: Comparison of Farmed Strains with their Wild Source of Populations" was published in August. Further studies on both wild and farmed populations of salmon have been completed. Others are in progress. The results of these studies will be made available as soon as possible. The suggestions in the Nature Conservancy Council report and elsewhere for future research will be taken into account in planning the Department's programme of scientific work in this field.

It is too early to predict what generally accepted scientific conclusions might emerge from current studies. At an international level, there have been discussions in both the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO). Further discussions are planned and scientists from DAFS and MAFF will continue to contribute to these.

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