§ Mr. John Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 25 June,Official Report, column 387, if he will set out the information available to his Ministry on the performance by private-contracted vessels of the maritime fishery protection service in Scotland.
§ Mr. CurrySurface fishery protection duties in Scotland are carried out partly by the Royal Navy and partly by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) using civilian vessels. The SFPA will shortly publish its first annual report. This will analyse performance and the effectiveness of the fisheries protection services provided. A key indicator of fisheries protection performance is the number of boardings achieved. The number of boardings of fishing vessels by civilian-manned vessels of the SFPA has increased from 1,125 in 1985–86 to 2,100 in 1991–92.