To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give details of any research commissioned or financed by him on square mesh panels as a means of conservation.

I refer to the reply given today to the hon. Member by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Member for Skipton and Ripon (Mr. Curry), which sets out the various research work being carried out on square mesh panels throughout the UK, including the major contribution by the marine laboratory in Aberdeen.