§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether his Department has made representations calling for a moratorium on further licences for marine sand and gravel extraction pending research on its effect on the sea-bed.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Department has worked consistently to ensure that fishing interests are safeguarded when licences for marine sand and gravel extraction are considered. The planned research into the speed with which dredged areas recolonise will improve our understanding of the factors involved. We could not justify blocking any new licences until this research has been completed, but we will continue to work with the fishing industry through the established consultation procedures to ensure that fisheries are properly protected.
§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take steps to introduce a requirement to fit positioning devices on dredgers to ensure that they do not stray out of their licensed areas.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Crown Estate, which issues licences for dredging sand and gravel from the sea bed, is planning to carry out trials this year with position recorders on three vessels. Provided that these trials are successful, any licences issued after 1991 will require dredging vessels to carry a position recorder and it is expected that most dredging vessels will be carrying position recorders by the end of 1992.