§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what was the average number of days at sea per trip recorded in June by Scottish vessels landing into Peterhead and having declared fishing in area VII;
(2) of the Scottish vessels landing into Peterhead in June having declared area VII catches, how many had radioed in; and what percentages were physically summoned for inspection;
(3) how many of the Scottish vessels landing in Peterhead in June having declared area VII catches failed to radio in;
(4) whether vessels crossing the 4 deg. line have to declare in which International Council for the Exploration of the Seas area their catch was caught.
§ Mr. LangI have been asked to reply.
During June, 29 Scottish vessels landed fish into Peterhead which they recorded as having been caught in International Council for the Exploration of the Seas area VII. This involved 34 fishing trips, averaging eight days. None of the vessels radioed in on crossing the 4 deg. line and consequently none was summoned for inspection. There is no requirement for vessels which do radio in to report details of where catches were taken. This information is obtained from the log book.
These cases are being fully investigated and any evidence of misreporting will be submitted to the procurator fiscal. Urgent consideration is also being given as to how to limit future misreporting.