§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list those polluted stretches of rivers and estuaries from which the public should not eat fish.
§ Mr. GummerMy Department has recently issued advice to anglers that it is inadvisable to eat fish caught in polluted waters. If anglers are in doubt about whether a particular stretch of water is polluted, they should seek advice locally from the National Rivers Authority which will be able to advise if the water is of poor quality on the basis of its rivers classification scheme.
The Government's advice does not apply to commercial fisheries which take place in or near estuaries. My Department monitors commercial fisheries both in estuaries and at sea to protect public health and the results show the quality of the water in the areas of these fisheries causes no problems for the species sold.