asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made in the proposed legislation to enforce the White Fish Authority levy to be paid on transhipment of fish caught in British waters.

Following consideration of representations made by hon. Members and by the fishing industry, the Government have reached two decisions. First, we will introduce as soon as possible in the present parliamentary Session legislation to enable the White Fish Authority to collect its general levy on trans-shipped fish. The levying of trans-shipped fish as well as fish landed in the United Kingdom will ensure that the costs of financing the WFA are shared equitably among the industry.Secondly, we propose to limit the increase in the rate of general levy to half of that originally proposed by the authority. An Order providing for a new rate of 1·2p per stone of fish (with appropriate differentials for fish products) will be laid in the next few weeks. This will be the first increase it the authority's levy for six years.