§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether salmon imported into Britain from Ireland and Norway is subject to routine testing for ivermectin residues; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if testing for ivermectin residues in Scottish produced farmed salmon has been introduced on a routine basis; and what information he has on the residues detected.
§ Mr. LangSamples of farmed salmon will be obtained from retail outlets throughout the United Kingdom in 1992 under the retail animal products survey, as part of the Government's food surveillance programme. Samples will be as representative of the national food supply as possible, and some 10 per cent. of the salmon samples analysed will have been imported from Norway and the Republic of Ireland. These samples will be analysed for residues of ivermectin.
A 12-month programme of residue testing in farmed fish is also being conducted in the United Kingdom in response to a request for information from the EC Commission. This programme includes the analysis of 50 samples of farmed salmon, obtained either directly from fish farms or United Kingdom wholesalers, for ivermectin. These analyses have been completed and ivermectin was not detected in any samples.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what progress has been made in the case of the alleged use of ivermectin for the treatment of sea lice in farmed salmon by(a) Glencoe Salmon in June 1991 and (b) Wester Ross Salmon in January;
(2) how many cases of the use of ivermectin for the treatment of sea lice in farmed salmonids in Scotland have been reported.
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§ Mr. LangA report on the alleged use of ivermectin at Glencoe Salmon Ltd. was made to the procurator fiscal at Fort William, who decided to take no criminal proceedings. A report concerning Wester Ross Salmon has been made to the procurator fiscal at Dornoch.
There is no requirement to report allegations about the use of ivermectin to my Department. Such reports should be made to the appropriate river purification authority or to the veterinary medicines directorate.
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement concerning the decision to support continuing the minimum import price for Norwegian salmon after 30 May; what measures he plans to introduce to safeguard the future of the Scottish salmon farming industry; and if he will estimate the decrease in production since that decision came into effect.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 6 July 1992]: The minimum import price was introduced last November for a three-month period in response to a specific threat to the European Community market of a surge in supply arising from substantial quantities of frozen salmon stored in Norway. It was subsequently extended for a further three-month period until the end of May. In the light of Norwegian action to dispose of the frozen stocks, it was decided that yet a further extension of the minimum import price could not be justified.
The Government are considering proposals to help stabilise the salmon market in the longer term through the establishment of producer organisations. The production and growth cycle for salmon is such that production will not have changed since the end of May. Rates of harvesting are for individual commercial decision and will be based on many considerations.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress has been made by the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department in developing analytical techniques for testing for residues of ivermectin in the flesh of farmed salmon.
§ Mr. LangAn analytical method for detection of ivermectin residues in salmon muscle has been developed and validated at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's Torry research station in Aberdeen.