§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many fish farms there are in the United Kingdom; how much it costs to acquire a licence for fish farming; and how much funding was given to fish farms in each of the last three years by his Department. [148680]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 5 February 2001]: Fish farming in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive. At 1 February 2001, there were 508 registered fish farms in England and 53 in Wales.
Fish farmers do not require a licence to farm. They do need to be registered, but this is free of charge.
There has been no direct funding given to fish farming by the Department in the last three years. However, some £2 million is spent each year on aquaculture research, particularly in respect of work on disease control.