§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the present condition of fishery research vessels in the United Kingdom; how many of them there are; how many are in full service; how many are mothballed; and how many are engaged in European, as opposed to purely British, programmes. [HL1768]
§ Lord DonoughueFishery research vessels are operated by three government departments within the United Kingdom. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) is an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and has two vessels, RV "Cirolana" and RV "Corystes". Both are fully operational, although "Cirolana" is now 28 years old and is only used for part of the year, pending planned replacement with a new research vessel.
The Fisheries Research Service (FRS), an Executive Agency of the Scottish Office, has two vessels in full service, RV "Scotia", which is about to be replaced with a new vessel during May 1998, and RV "Clupea". The Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland operates one vessel, RV "Lough Foyle", which is fully operational. All of these vessels are engaged in 119WA European programmes of monitoring and research, through the co-ordination provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.