§ Lord Moranasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will ask the Salmon Advisory Committee to investigate and report on the recent decline in runs of sea trout in many Scottish and Welsh rivers.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Scottish Office (Lord Strathclyde)This problem is already being investigated by scientists of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and of the Welsh Region of the National Rivers Authority. The results will not be available for some time.
In view of those investigations and the already substantial programme of work which the Salmon Advisory Committee has to complete on Atlantic Salmon, we have no plans at present to ask the commit tee to consider sea trout.