asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish his Department's calculations of future sole and plaice stocks and landings which were used to support the agreement made between Her Majesty's Government and the Governments of Belgium and France about fishing in the English Channel in 1975.
The agreement to which the hon. Member refers was made by the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission whose members include the United Kingdom, France and Belgium. The commission's scientific advice regarding total allowable catches is provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of the sole and plaice quotas allocated to the Belgians and French in 1975 can be taken by them from the British side of the Channel.
Belgian and French vessels may not fish within six miles of the United Kingdom baselines. Otherwise, nations are free to fish their quotas in any part of the quota area.
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what methods of inspection of the weight and size of sole and plaice catches will be used by the Governments of the United Kingdom, France and Belgium within
| Under 30 years | 30–39 years | 40–49 years | 50–59 years | 60 and over | |||
| All grades | … | … | 15 | 92 | 174 | 203 | 66 |
| Basic entry grade | … | 15 | 75 | 85 | 102 | 36 | |
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of the veterinary staff of the State Veterinary Service are due to retire in the next five and 10 years, respectively.
Professional staff in the State Veterinary Service may ordinarily retire on pension at age 60, but providing an officer remains efficient and the Department has continuing need of his services he may be retained until age 65 and even beyond. A recent analysis showed 269 officers aged 50 and over, of
their catch quota agreement for 1975 in the English Channel.
As in the past, my Department will continue to collect statistics of landings of sole and plaice and information on when the fish were caught. This will be used to monitor the United Kingdom quotas for these stocks. The arrangements for regulating the quotas for Belgium and France are the responsibility of the countries concerned.
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how the proposed fish catch quotas of sole and plaice from the English Channel in 1975 will be divided between full time, part-time and amateur fishermen.
My officials will shortly be discussing with all sectors of the industry the arrangements for the implementation of the catch quotas for soles and plaice.