§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the number of recorded fatalities of(a) dolphins and (b) whales and other cetaceans in United Kingdom waters in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. YeoThe available figures on cetacean deaths come from a DOE-sponsored scheme for co-ordinated reports of stranded cetaceans around Great Britain. The scheme does not extend to Northern Ireland. The figures are:
Year Dolphins Whales and other cetaceans 1988 44 63 1989 43 95 1990 52 98 1991 78 116 1992 256 159 The 1992 figures appear to reflect an unusual series of strandings of common dolphins off the south-west coast of England in spring 1992 and additional information for Scottish waters following the appointment of a co-ordinator for Scottish reports.