§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of smolt produced in the River Bush in each of the last 25 years; and what percentage and numbers were lost in each year as a result of predation by cormorants. [20586]
§ Mr. AncramRecords of the numbers of smolt produced in the River Bush are available only for the last 21 years. These are set out in the table. The only research carried out into the number of smolt lost to cormorants occurred in 1986. I have arranged for a copy of the research paper, which contains the only statistical data available, to be sent to the hon. Gentleman.
River Bush smolt counts Year Wild smolt Farmed smolt Total 1974 44,513 4,349 48,862 1975 33,437 4,475 37,912 1976 21,011 37,370 58,381 1977 16,639 10,557 30,196 1978 27,093 10,642 37,735 1979 24,286 10,631 34,917 1980 20,489 4,841 25,330 1981 1— 2,702 — 1982 10,779 1,338 12,117 1983 26,968 5,733 32,701 1984 30,034 2,683 32,717 1985 30,519 17,966 48,485 1986 19,066 25,159 44,225 1987 22,156 17,064 39,220 1988 22,994 16,054 39,048 1989 17,812 7,431 25,243 1990 17,354 27,076 44,430 1991 18,471 32,879 51,350 1992 10,008 22,384 32,392 1993 1— 14,726 — 1994 14,145 5,508 19,653 1 Incomplete count (traps flooded out).