asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will call to the attention of the French Government the illegal landing of up to 30,000 tons of herring, caught in British waters, in Boulogne in the autumn of 1979.

I understand that the French authorities have instituted legal proceedings against 16 French vessels for alleged illegal landings of herring in Boulogne. Regular patrols undertaken by United Kingdom fishery protection vessels found no evidence of French vessels fishing for herring in the autumn of 1979 in those areas within British fishery limits where such fishing is banned.