§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he proposes to introduce precautionary limits on the industrial fishery catch permitted on the Wee Bankie.
§ Sir Hector MonroThe industrial fishery on Wee Bankie by non-United Kingdom fishermen is carried out beyond the United Kingdom's 12-mile territorial sea and United Kingdom catch levels in this fishery are minimal. Any limits on catch levels for all member states would require the agreement of the Council of Ministers in Brussels. In the light of further scientific work being carried out on the impact of industrial fishing, the United Kingdom will consider whether further controls on the North sea fishery should be proposed.
§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion by weight of the the total fish catch in International Council for the Exploration of the Sea area VI,(a) is taken by industrial fishermen and (b) comprises sandeels.
§ Sir Hector MonroData on total international catches for all species in sub-area VI—West of Scotland and Rockall—are available in the publication "ICES Fisheries Statistics (Bulletin Statistique des Peches Maritimes)". The most recently available volume is dated November 1992 and is for the year 1988.
On the basis of the information contained in that publication, figures for the years 1985–88 are as follows:
4W
"Industrial" catch as percentage of total catch 1985 1986 1987 1988 Division VIa (West of Scotland) Sandeels (per cent) 2.2 3.1 1.9 3.4 Norway pout (per cent.) 1.1 — 5.0 — Blue whiting (per cent.) 24.3 33.6 17.8 14.7 Total (thousand tonnes) 857.4 794.3 767.4 719.5 Division VIb (Rockall) Sandells (per cent.) — — — — Norway pout (per cent.) — — — — Blue whiting (per cent.) 1.4 2.5 30.0 3.9 Total (thousand tonnes) 31.7 28.4 44.4 36.1
§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what was the catch by the industrial fisheries on the Wee Bankie, Firth of Forth, in(a) 1991, (b) 1992 and (c) 1993;
(2) what proportion of the industrial sandeel catch on the Wee Bankie is taken by British fishermen.
§ Sir Hector MonroTotal international catch data are published only for larger areas than Wee Bankie. Available data for the area off the Firth of Forth, however, show that catches in that area totalled 39,000 tonnes in 1991 and 60,000 tonnes in 1992. Published data are not yet available for 1993.
No United Kingdom vessels landed sandeels from that area in 1991 or 1993. In 1992, United Kingdom vessels landed just over 1,000 tonnes. The precise proportion this comprises of the entire sandeel catch on Wee Bankie in that year is unclear because of the factors explained above; but the information available indicates that the proportion will be less than 2 per cent.