§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, pursuant to the reply given to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Provan (Mr. Wray) of 19 March,Official Report, column 490, he will identify those small, localised inshore locations where evidence of eutrophication has been found; what evidence he has of trends in nutrients in coastal and estuarial waters of the United Kingdom; and what examination of fluxes of nutrients, through which estuaries, and by whom, is, or is proposed to be, undertaken.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryThe inshore locations where evidence of eutrophication has been found are the Norfolk Broads, Langstone harbour, Poole harbour, Tywi estuary, inner Moray Firth and Loch Neagh. Nutrient levels in coastal and estuarial waters have been monitored since 1960 by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea: it reports no sign of a rising trend in levels. Monitoring of nutrients in coastal and estuarial waters in England and Wales is now the responsibility of the National Rivers Authority.