§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many and what proportion of England's shellfish waters have been designated as safe under the shellfish waters directive 79/923. [7683]
§ Mr. ClappisonThe shellfish waters directive applies to coastal and brackish waters designated by member states and defines quality objectives to protect the development of shellfish populations from the principal sources of pollution. Seventeen such waters have been designated in England, and the Environment Agency monitoring results for 1995 showed that over 80 per cent. complied with the directive's requirements. None of the failures was considered by the competent authority to have harmful consequences for the development of shellfish colonies.