§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of(a) Nuvan chemicals and (b) Aquagard chemicals in the poisoning of salmon and sea trout.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 11 June 1990]: Aquagard, formerly known as Nuvan, is a licensed veterinary medicine which is used to treat sea lice infestation in farmed salmon.
Responsibility for the assessment of the safety, quality and efficacy of veterinary medicines rests with the Veterinary Products Committee, which advises the Government in such matters. The committee considered the safety of Aquagard to both humans and animals, including fish, in its consideration of the application for a product licence under the Medicines Act 1968.
On the advice of the Veterinary Products Committee a one-year product licence for Aquagard was issued in June 1989. A review of the product is currently being undertaken and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food hopes to make a statement shortly.