asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of fishing vessels laid up or transferred to non-fishing duties in the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and how many persons this has rendered unemployed directly or indirectly, respectively, or transferred from work connected with fishing to work not connected with fishing.

Three fishing vessels were laid up in 1976. However, these were replaced by newer vessels, so the overall strength of the fleet has remained constant, and no redundancies or transfer of workers to work not connected with fishing have occurred.