§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what his estimate is of the number of(a) salmon, (b) grilse and (c) sea trout taken by the North East drift net fishery in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what his estimate is of the number and percentage of these fish which were bound for Scottish rivers, indicating also his estimate of the number and percentage which were bound for the River Tweed and its tributaries. [128826]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 3 July 2000]: The table sets out the figures for salmon, grilse and sea trout taken by drift nets in the North East coast fishery in each of the last five years.
Year Salmon Grilse Sea trout 1995 19,101 28,904 29,521 1996 7,465 7,707 13,225 1997 6,305 12,936 12,387 1998 5,985 11,343 11,339 1999 8,523 16,289 15,059 No precise estimates are available for the proportion of these fish that were bound for Scottish rivers or the River Tweed and its tributaries. However, a joint MAFF and Scottish Office report on "Salmon Net Fishers" (1991) estimated that 80 per cent. of the salmon and grilse taken by the total North East coast fishery in 1987–88 were bound for Scottish rivers and that 40 per cent. were bound for the Tweed. The "Report of the Technical Working Group on the English North East Coast Salmon Fishery" (1997) suggested that up to 50 per cent. of the sea trout caught in the North East coast fishery may be bound for Scottish rivers, the majority of these to the Tweed. Based on the above approximate percentages, the estimated numbers of salmon, grilse and sea trout caught in the North East coast fishery in the past five years that were bound for Scottish rivers and the River Tweed and its tributaries are given in the table.
385W
Year Salmon Grilse Sea trout Scottish rivers 1995 15,281 23,123 14,761 1996 5,972 6,166 6,613 1997 5,044 10,349 6,194 1998 4,788 9,074 5,670 1999 6,818 13,031 7,530 River Tweed and its tributaries 1995 7,640 11,562 14,761 1996 2,986 3,083 6,613 1997 2,522 5,174 6,194 1998 2,394 4,537 5,670 1999 3,409 6,516 7,530