§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list each of the last three years and the current year the number of(a) salmon, (b) grilse and (c) sea trout taken by commercial fishing engines in (i) estuaries, (ii) coastal netting stations and (iii) drift nets; and if he will indicate the numbers of such nets and number of licences issued in those years, the number of persons employed in Northern Ireland in such activity indicating the number of full-time and part-time fishermen and the value and number of fish taken from the Foyle Fisheries Commission—FFC—area and the fisheries conservation area.
§ Mr. Ancram(i) Commercial salmon catch returns do not differentiate between salmon and grilse and the statistics sought are not available in the form requested. The only information available in the FFC area relates to1048W catch statistics by class of commercial fishing engine and is contained in the commission's annual reports, copies of which are available in the Library. The only information available in the Fisheries Conservancy Board area is shown in the table. Information relating to 1993 is not currently available.
Method Year Total salmon caught Coastal netting stations Drift nets Others 1990 10,214 7,580 252 2,382 1991 7,513 5,058 838 1,617 1992 10,049 7,414 2,267 368 (ii) The number of nets in use is equivalent to the number of licences issued. This information is available in the annual reports of the Foyle Fisheries Commission and the Fisheries Conservancy Board, copies of which are in the Library. The number and type of licences issued in 1993 are shown in the table:
Number FFC Drift sea 20 Drift lough and sea 80 Drift lough 12 Draft A-R Foyle 62 R Roe 1 Fixed engine 1 Total 176 FCB Bag nets 14 Fixed 6 Drift 9 Draft 4 Salmon 4 Total 37 (iii) Accurate figures of full-time and part-time fishermen are not available. It is estimated that there are 83 part-time fishermen in the Fisheries Conservancy Board area and 400 part-time fishermen in the Foyle Fisheries Commission area. There are no fishermen engaged in salmon fishing on a full-time basis.
(iv) The number and estimate value of salmon and grilse taken are shown in the table. There are no figures available for sea trout.
FFC1 FCB Number Estimated value £ Number Estimated value £ 1990 22,210 309,100 10,214 132,638 1991 12,908 191,901 7,513 104,738 1992 21,129 292,312 10,049 146,579 1 These figures represent half the total catch of salmon in the Foyle Area which for statistical purposes in equally divided between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list for each of the last three years and the current year the number of(a) salmon, (b) grilse and (c) sea trout taken in each river by anglers in Northern Ireland; and what are the totals for the Foyle 1049W Fisheries Commission areas in (i) Northern Ireland, (ii) the Irish Republic and (iii) in the area covered by the Fisheries Conservancy Board.
§ Mr. AncramSeparate records for salmon and grilse are not available. The total catch by anglers is not known. The only rod catch statistics available are contained in the annual reports of the Foyle Fisheries Commission and Fisheries Conservancy Board, copies of which are available in the Library. No figures are currently available for 1993.