Fisheries Research (Hansard, 5 March 1990)

§ Mr. William Ross

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table in theOfficial Report to show (a) vessels based in Great Britain which are engaged in fisheries research, (b) the draught and tonnage of the vessels, (c) the type of fish covered by the research, (d) the number of full-time crew employed on each vessel, (e) the number of scientists employed in each vessel, (f) the number of other staff employed on the vessel, (g) the number of staff employed at the shore establishment and which directly support each vessel, (h) the port at which the vessel is based, (i) the sea area which is normally covered by each vessel and its extent in square miles, (j) the number of days spent at sea in each of the last three years and (k) the costs attributed to the work of each vessel in those three years or as much of such information as is available to him.

§ Mr. Gummer

[holding answer 27 February 1990]: Two vessels, R V Cirolana and RV Corystes, are operated by my Department for fisheries research. RV Corystes entered service in April 1988.

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and the Natural Environment Research Council also operate fisheries reseach vessels.

Information about the vessels operated by the Ministry is as follows:

Draught and tonnage
(i) Cirolana
Draft	¹5.11m
Net registered tonnage	440.81
Gross registered tonnage	1,731.48
(ii) Corystes
Draft	¹4.30m
Net registered tonnage	384.00
Gross registered tonnage	1,280.00
¹ Mean.

Type of fish covered by the research

All fish and shellfish in principle, but particularly the 40 or so species of interest to the United Kingdom's commercial fishermen and subject to EC common fishery policy regulations on total allowable catches. A total of 50 per cent. of the vessels' time is engaged in marine environmental protection-related work.

Full-time crew employed
	Number
(i) Cirolana	29
(ii) Corystes	19
(iii) Relief	6

Scientific staff

Those staff are shore-based. The number of scientists normally carried per cruise is:

	Number
(i) Cirolana	10
(ii) Corystes	6

Other staff employed on the vessels

Nil.

Shore based support staff

Five and half.

Base port

Lowestoft.

Operational sea area

(i) Cirolana

Worldwide capability but operated mainly in the North 498 Atlantic from the Azores to the polar ice shelf and Europe/Scandinavia to Canada. Approximate area 4.4 million square miles.

(ii) Corystes

North-west European shelf sea contiguous with the British Isles, although capable of working anywhere in the Atlantic in reasonable weather conditions. Approximate area 1 million square miles.

Number of days spent at sea
	1987	1988	1989
(i) Cirolana	256	243	254
(ii) Corystes	—	183	249

(k) Operational cost of vessels (to nearest £ thousand)
	1987–88 (£)	1988–89 (£)	1989–90¹ (£)
(i) Cirolana	921,000	986,000	1,039,000
(ii) Corystes	—	586,000	705,000
¹ Forecast.