HC Deb 19 December 1994 vol 251 c951W
Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the potential trade in salmon roe and the legal constraints upon it.

Sir Hector Monro

Sales of all salmon roe are prohibited by the terms of section 18 of the Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1868, which is a conservation measure for wild salmon to discourage interference with gravid fish or spawning redds. My Department is currently considering whether it would be possible to relax this prohibition and permit trade in farmed salmon roe without reducing the protection afforded to wild salmon stock. There is a market for salmon roe both at home and abroad.