Further to its press release of 16 May 2000 on seal conservation and fisheries, what plans it has for measures to deal with the population …

I visited the Sea Mammal Research Unit, the statutory advisers on seals, in St. Andrews on 16 May when scientists confirmed that seal predation on salmonids in estuaries and the lower reaches of rivers is probably related to small numbers of "rogue" animals. I am advised that targeted shooting under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 is likely to be the most effective way of addressing this problem.There appears to be no direct correlation between growing seal numbers in the sea and the decline in salmon stocks. In Scotland, as throughout the rest of the range of Atlantic salmon, catches have been declining for a number of years. The reasons for the decline are not clear but it is acknowledged that the mortality rate in the marine phase of the salmon's life has increased, thus reducing the number of fish returning to our rivers each year. In addition to predation factors such as habitat degradation, disease, water quality and poor weather conditions may also have an effect on spawning populations.The issue of seal predation on freshwater fisheries already features in the consultation paper Protecting and Promoting Scotland's Freshwater Fish and Fisheries: A Review, published recently. A copy of this is held in the Parliament Information Centre.