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Public Health
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Geoffrey Lofthouse): It may be helpful if I were to advise the House on the scope of the debate. The debate should address the desirability of restricting the taking, movement and use of fish, edible plants and edible seaweed from the sea area defined in the schedule to the order and, in that context, could include discussion of the repercussions of the Sea Empress disaster.
7.37 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Rod Richards): I beg to move,
- That the Food Protection (Emergency Prohibitions) (Oil and Chemical Pollution of Fish and Plants) Order 1996 (S.I., 1996,No. 448), dated 28th February 1996, a copy of which was laid before this House on 29th February, be approved.
The order prohibits all fishing activities in the area designated in it which is or may be affected by oil and other chemical pollutants as a result of the grounding of the oil tanker Sea Empress.
The order also prohibits the harvesting of edible seaweeds--laver, dulse and carrageen--and a plant commonly known as samphire or glasswort.
The laying of the order is the first of two which have had to be made as a result of the oil spillage.
Yesterday, on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, I made an order prohibiting fishing for salmon and sea trout in all water courses and rivers that discharge to the coast affected by sea fishery restrictions. The angling season for those fish was due to start today, but as a precautionary measure, my right hon. Friend decided to impose restrictions until we can be certain that consuming such fish will not be a health risk.
Mr. Alan W. Williams (Carmarthen):
Does that order apply to the whole length of the river or only the tidal part?
Mr. Richards:
Clearly, it applies to the tidal part because we are talking about migrating fish.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's concern in placing the ban on fishing was to protect consumers--the purpose of the parent legislation, the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985.
I am extremely grateful to local fishermen, who have shown great concern for the consumer and respect for their industry since the incident occurred by immediately arranging a voluntary ban on fishing in the area affected by the spillage.
The Government took immediate action to investigate the extent of pollution and its impact on fisheries. The sea fisheries inspectorate at Milford Haven, assisted by local fishermen's groups, took samples of fish and shellfish to pass to the directorate of fisheries research at Burnham on Crouch for urgent analysis. The fisheries protection vessel, Corystes, was also diverted to the area to help with the sampling programme.
In the early days of the spillage, it was known that much of the oil would be dispersed into the water column to a considerable depth. Fish metabolise petroleum hydrocarbons quite quickly and the testing regime was set
up to measure the level of hydrocarbons in order to assess how far the effects of the spillage had dispersed. The movement and spread of oil was constantly monitored and we took statutory action to protect consumers as soon as scientific advice showed the need for a statutory ban.
On 28 February, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State introduced statutory restrictions in an area of about 810 square miles from St. David's head to Port-Eynon point on the Gower peninsula. The size of the designated area is based on scientific advice, and the extent of the spillage and its likely effect on commercial fisheries. It was recommended, therefore, that the order should encompass St. Bride's bay, Milford Haven and Carmarthen bay.
It has been put to me that the designated area should have been extended for a short period so that a testing regime could have cleared the area not affected by the spillage. That would not have been legally possible.I could not make an order affecting an area unless there was evidence that we were satisfied that food from that area was unsuitable for human consumption. That was not the case, so the area defined conforms with legal requirements. We need to consider carefully all the options. We may be able to reduce the restricted area, or remove restrictions from particular species, or a combination of the two. We shall keep that under review.
The testing is a highly complex matter. Not only must we consider absolute levels of hydrocarbons, but we need to test for traces of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. PAHs are resistant to degradation and some are known as suspected human carcinogens. Tests for them are complex and time-consuming. I assure the House that throughout the period before the statutory restrictions were imposed, we maintained close and continuous contact with the industry, which acted with restraint and control in adhering to its self-imposed ban on fishing.
The controls that we have introduced are being enforced with the assistance of the environmental health departments of the local authorities--South Pembrokeshire, Preseli Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen and Llanelli--the Milford Haven port health authority, and officers of the South Wales sea fisheries committee who have been authorised to supplement the enforcement role of the sea fisheries inspectorate. I pay tribute to the untiring effort that all those bodies have put in to help mitigate the damage caused by the incident. Enforcement on the ground is being enhanced by sea fisheries inspectorate surveillance flights over the area and visits of Royal Navy fisheries protection vessels in the affected area.
Hon. Members will doubtless be concerned to know how long the restrictions will last. I have to be honest and say that I cannot yet provide a definitive answer because it is simply too soon. We are continually monitoring the situation and will lift restrictions as soon as we have evidence that it is safe to do so. To that end, we shall continue vigorously with our scientific programme.
Mr. Nick Ainger (Pembroke):
Before the Minister moves off that point and the imposition of the order, will he explain why only 77 hours after the Braer ran aground
Mr. Richards:
As I have already explained, such an order can be made only on the basis of scientific evidence and in the interests of the public or the consumer on health grounds. It cannot be made on any other grounds. As the hon. Gentleman has said, we were obviously fortunate to have the full support and co-operation of the fishing industry.
Since I have been diverted from my brief, perhaps I could correct an answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Williams) a moment ago. The order for freshwater fisheries in fact applies to the entire length of the rivers concerned.
The possibility of further contamination from large quantities of dispersed oil remains, as does the possibility of a remobilisation of beached and landed oil. We are carefully monitoring and sampling to establish how the situation develops. The present cold weather means that the fish are not feeding very vigorously. Such activity will increase as seawater temperature rises and could conceivably lead to a greater intake of pollution from oil contained in the water column. We need therefore to move forward judiciously. Careful attention has to be given to every complex aspect of the passage of contamination, and I make no apologies for our cautious approach.
I am naturally concerned about the welfare of fishermen and the future of their industry. One of our main concerns is to ensure that public and market opinion about the quality of Welsh fish is put into perspective. It is important that the message is quite clear that Welsh fish coming on to the market is safe to eat. We shall explore with the fishing industry and others ways in which we can inform the public and trade interests of the fitness of Welsh fish. The subject could form part of our bid for European funding, and we shall discuss with the Commission ways in which we can enhance the promotion and marketing of the Welsh seafood industry.
The insurers of the Sea Empress have assured us that they will immediately meet the claims of hardship cases. They have set up a claims handling office in Milford Haven, and funds have been made available to make immediate payments. By late this morning, nine claims had been received from the fishing industry. These, I am told, are being urgently considered and will be processed as quickly as possible.
Claims office staff are working hard to ensure that agreement is reached with claimants as quickly as possible, although the latest information I have is that some claimants are experiencing difficulties with the international oil compensation fund. It is an issue that I shall raise with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to see what the Government can do about this intergovernmental agreement.
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