Mr. John D. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why access to Portavogie harbour was blocked in the evenings of Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February; how many fishing boats had to anchor outside the harbour entrance and how many were within the harbour; whether Portavogie harbour was occupied to its full capacity that weekend; and how many fishing boats were damaged that weekend.
§ Mr. Peter Bottomley[holding answer 1 March 1990]: One fishing vessel is known to have suffered damage during that weekend when she broke her moorings in the early hours of Monday morning. The mooring basins were occupied substantially in excess of their design capacity. Two vessels had to berth at the eastern breakwater in the outer harbour and approximately 80 vessels were berthed within the mooring basins or alongside the north pier. No fishing vessels had to anchor outside the harbour. During the evenings of Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February, the entrance to Portavogie harbour was not blocked although access to the mooring basins was not possible as the area was fully utilised.