§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what measures are being taken to ensure the preservation of salmon stocks in English rivers.
§ Mr. CurryThe National Rivers Authority is responsible for the management and regulation of salmon and freshwater fisheries in England and Wales and has a statutory duty under the Water Resources Act to maintain, improve and develop such fisheries. The authority has extensive powers under salmon and freshwater fisheries legislation—which are subject to confirmation by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or the Secretary of State for Wales, as appropriate—to make byelaws, orders and related measures, arid the duty and means to enforce them. Both the National Rivers Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food—which has policy responsibility for salmon and freshwater fisheries in England and Wales—maintain extensive research programmes into salmonid fisheries.