§ Lord Moranasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will, in their current review of North-Eastern salmon net fisheries, take account of the decline in the world catch of Atlantic salmon in home waters which, according to figures compiled by the International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES), has fallen from 10,439 metric tons in 1967 to 5,075 metric tons in 1989.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Trumpington)The scope and geographical extent of the statutory review of the North-East coast salmon net fisheries is defined by Section 39 of the Salmon Act 1986. My Department and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland have collected a comprehensive range of catch data for the review area and a report, incorporating this background information and our interpretation of it, will be presented to Parliament as soon as possible. As regards ICES data on world catches of Atlantic salmon in home waters, it is worth noting that there is a substantial range of factors which affect catch, including climatic conditions and changes in fishing effort.