§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made by the marine top predator group under his Department's chairmanship co-ordinating a multi-disciplinary study of seabird and sand-eel breeding interactions, with particular reference to the breeding failure of Shetland seabirds; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Trippier[holding answer 6 June 1990]: The marine top predator group has been making good progress. Its 690W first remit was the co-ordination of two major research projects on seabird and sand-eel breeding interactions in the Shetland-Orkney region: a Natural Environment Research Council study to look at seabird dynamics, and a collaborative project funded jointly by Government, NGOs and industry on sand-eels.
A successful pilot project to assess the best geographical sites for study was funded by this Department last year and the NERC study commenced in the autumn for a three- year period. An announcement will be made on the parallel sand-eel project shortly.