§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the criteria used by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency in drawing up their list of ports proposed for designation. [41353]
§ Mr. MacdonaldProposals to introduce designated ports for vessels of 20 metres overall length or above landing non-pelagic fish into the UK were announced by the Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 3 March 1998,Official Report, column 593. The proposed designated landing 26W ports in Scotland are essentially those where the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency currently has a Sea Fisheries Inspectorate office and where there is a recognised auction market. There are, however, two exceptions. Excluded from the list is the port of Arbroath where the local office will be closed on 1 July 1998 following a decrease of whitefish landings into the port. Scalloway has no SFI office, but has been included in recognition of the scale of landings made there. Additionally, the Scottish ports listed in the consultation paper account for approximately 90% of all non-pelagic landings in terms of tonnage and value made by the vessels to be included in the proposed scheme.
The proposed arrangements are currently the subject of a consultation exercise with the industry and harbour authorities. Careful consideration will be given to all comments received, including those relating to the list of ports which are to be designated.