§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answer of 24 March,Official Report, column 374, if she will place in the Library copies of the studies commissioned by the National Rivers Authority on the reasons for declines in fish catches.
§ Mr. JackStudies carried out by the National Rivers Authority in response to anglers' concerns about the perceived decline in catches of fish often involve an assessment of the status of stocks at the location in question. Normally further work would be carried out only if this revealed a particular problem. The results of such studies are made available to local fishery interests but are seldom disseminated more widely in the form of formal published reports. I am, however, arranging for reports on two of the more extensive studies carried out recently—those relating to the Warwickshire Avon and to the Test and Itchen—to be deposited in the Library of the House.