§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the annual(a) value and (b) tonnage of fish caught by British-owned fishing vessels in each of the last five years. [84907]
§ Mr. MorleyThe value and tonnage of catches landed by UK registered fishing vessels during the last five years was as follows:
Fish landing into the UK and abroad by UK registered vessels Year Quantity(000 tonnes) Value(£ million) 1993 857.6 526.0 1994 874.9 561.4 1995 911.8 590.1 1996 892.3 636.5 1997 881.9 621.9
§ Mr. GillTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the number of jobs sustained(a) afloat and (b) ashore by the activities of British-owned fishing vessels. [84908]
§ Mr. MorleyData from an annual survey indicate that the number of UK fishermen in 1997 was 18,604.
The annual Census of Employment carried out by the Office for National Statistics indicates that in 1997 there were 19,454 people employed in the processing and preserving of fish in Great Britain.