asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a list of the vessels arrested since 1 July 1979 in United Kingdom waters for illegal fishing, showing in each case: the country of origin of the vessel, whether the skipper was prosecuted, whether the prosecution was successful, the penalty imposed, the nature of the infringement, the species of fish involved and the approximate value of the illegal catch.

[pursuant to his reply, 15 Febuary 1980, c. 796–7]: Since 1 July 1979 17 fishing vessels have been brought into port by RN or DAFS fishery protection vessels for further investigation in connection with suspected breaches of fisheries regulations. Prosecutions have been brought in respect of 16 of these vessels. The case of the remaining vessel, which is registered in the United Kingdom, is still under consideration. The following tables give the details requested for the prosecutions in respect of the other 16 vessels.In addition, prosecutions have been brought in respect of over 30 offences involving United Kingdom vessels which were not brought into port for further investigation. In most cases these offences were detected in port or as a result of onshore checks.