§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (I) if he will make a statement on the presence of tributyltin in the North sea;
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the implications for the marine environment of the presence of tributyltin in the North sea.
§ Mr. CurryThe Department began a programme to measure tributyltin (TBT) levels in water, fish and shellfish in 1982. Since 1987 the Department, jointly with the Department of the Environment, has commissioned a more intensive research and monitoring programme to assess the efficacy of control measures introduced in 1986 and 1987. This work has been focused on certain estuaries where contamination was highest. The results show that TBT levels are declining generally and affected populations of marine species are recovering. Levels in the most severely contaminated areas have declined by between six and tenfold since 1986 as a direct result of the controls applied.
The levels of TBT in the mouths of estuaries away from pleasure craft activity have always been low, and concentrations in the open waters of the North sea are still lower. Levels are below both the quality standard required to protect marine species and the limit of detection of the most sensitive analytical techniques available.