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20 Jan 2009 : Column 1284W—continued

Estimated discards of west of Scotland stocks by vessels registered in Scotland, 1998 to 2007
Tonnes
	Species
	Cod	Haddock	Whiting
1998	289	4,801	4,232
1999	62	4,060	2,015
2000	410	6,875	4,831
2001	139	6,087	1,561
2002	110	7,151	1,257
2003	27	3,649	1,283
2004	56	4,072	2,445
2005	45	2,677	828
2006	322	4,453	647
2007	1,107	3,405	312

Number of fishing vessels registered in the UK, 1997 to 2007
	Under 10 metres	10 metres+	Total
1997	2,436	6,022	8,458
1998	2,244	6,027	8,271
1999	2,123	5,916	8,039
2000	2,049	5,769	7,818
2001	2,006	5,715	7,721
2002	1,805	5,773	7,578
2003	1,684	5,412	7,096
2004	5,394	1,628	7,022
2005	5,134	1,582	6,716
2006	5,203	1,549	6,752
2007	5,236	1,527	6,763

Fishing Catches: North Sea

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the weight of discards of fish caught in the North Sea was in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down by (a) nationality of fishing vessel and (b) fish type. [249170]

Huw Irranca-Davies: We do not have access to estimates of discards by nation for nations other than the UK. However estimates of total international discards, which include estimates of discards for all fleets fishing in the North sea, are available. These can be compared with the estimates of discards by UK fleets to determine the contribution of UK and other fleets to the total quantities discarded.

Estimated discards (tonnes) of North sea cod, haddock and whiting: (Estimates are given for vessels registered in Scotland (Sco), England, Wales and Northern Ireland (EWN) and for all international fleets combined (Total Int)).

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20 Jan 2009 : Column 1286W

	Cod			Haddock			Whiting
	Sco	EWN	Total Int.	Sco	EWN	Total Int.	Sco	EWN	Total Int.
1998	10,287	—	40,500	35,134	—	45,160	8,861	—	13,000
1999	2,991	—	14,200	35,270	—	42,598	15,563	—	24,000
2000	4,141	—	13,700	39,745	—	48,770	16,211	—	23,000
2001	4,440	—	13,900	86,297	—	118,225	8,869	—	16,000
2002	1,519	—	5,700	32,196	—	45,857	8,315	—	18,000
2003	1,086	—	6,400	18,555	—	23,691	5,931	—	24,000
2004	1,266	430	5,800	12,834	371	15,551	5,765	2,023	14,000
2005	1,169	604	6,300	7,412	168	8,637	5,547	683	11,000
2006	1,671	581	8,100	14,671	310	17,908	4,457	1,385	10,000
2007	11,892	221	23,600	24,671	322	31,048	3,383	541	6,000

Fishing Gear: EC Action

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures were proposed at the most recent EU Fisheries Council to reduce mesh size; and which countries (a) proposed and (b) supported each such proposal. [248987]

Huw Irranca-Davies: The only such proposal we were aware of concerned a French request to permit the exploitation of a sustainable gill net fishery in the waters to the west of Ireland, by somewhat relaxing the existing static gear restrictions in the area. This was ultimately agreed by all member states, on the grounds that the fishery was sustainable and it would not have any impact on the deep sea stocks the restrictions were intended to protect.

Fishing Vessels

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average (a) length and (b) horsepower of a UK fishing vessel is. [249047]

Huw Irranca-Davies: Based on those vessels registered as UK fishing vessels as at 31 December 2007, the average length of a UK registered fishing vessel was 9.7 metres and the average power was 127 kW.

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average age of the UK (a) under 30 foot and (b) over 30 foot fishing fleet is. [249049]

Huw Irranca-Davies: Based on those vessels registered as UK fishing vessels as at 31 December 2007, the average age of UK registered fishing vessels under 30 feet in length was 23 years. The average age of vessels over 30 feet in length was also 23 years.

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many UK fishing vessels were built in 2008; and what their total tonnage is. [249052]

Huw Irranca-Davies: Of those vessels entering the UK fishing fleet during 2008, sixty three were actually built during 2008, with a gross tonnage of 6,168 tonnes.

Floods and Water Bill

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to publish the draft Floods and Water Bill. [249497]

Huw Irranca-Davies: I refer my hon. Friend to my previous reply of 9 December 2008, Official Report, column 39W.

Landfill Tax: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been paid in Landfill Tax by each London authority in each year since its introduction in 2002; and if he will make a statement. [247811]

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.

It is not possible using landfill tax receipts data to determine how much revenue is received from local authorities. This is because registered landfill site operators pay the tax to HM Revenue and Customs and pass on the cost to their customers through the disposal charges they set. The origin of the landfilled waste is not recorded on the tax return.

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