asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the state of the salmon industry.

Following a modest increase in reported catches of salmon and grilse from 1,092 tonnes in 1982 to 1,221 tonnes in 1983, provisional figures for 1984 indicate a decline to about 988 tonnes. This is extremely disappointing but may be due in large part to last year's prolonged drought preventing significant numbers of fish from running up rivers until after the fishing season.