§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken to assess the impact of industrial fishing for sand-eels along the east coast of the United Kingdom on juvenile stocks of commercial fish species; and if he will make a statement. [39165]
§ Mr. Baldry[holding answer 23 July 1996]: In 1992 the Scottish Office marine laboratory in Aberdeen hosted a scientific meeting convened by the European Commission which concluded that even a major reduction in the sand-eel fishery was unlikely to produce significant benefits for other commercial fish species. The UK enforcement authorities carry out routine monitoring of the sand-eel fishery in UK waters. This monitoring confirms that there is little by-catch of other commercial species. However, given the scale of the fishery, I have pressed for further scientific research and the introduction of further controls.