asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that the entire catch of an Icelandic trawler at Hamburg in the last week of May went to fishmeal; what was the reason for the serious loss in human food; and if the catch was part of the recent purchase of 67,000 tons from Iceland for Germany for which the British taxpayer has to pay.

The cargoes of two Icelandic trawlers which arrived off German ports during the week commencing 22nd May and which were in excess of the number the Icelandic Government had been requested to deliver, were refused by the German authorities because of market conditions at the time. To prevent total loss the fish was unloaded for conversion to fishmeal. The circumstances are still under examination and it is not possible at present to say whether these cargoes can be held to form part of the amount His Majesty's Government has contracted to buy.