asked the Minister for Fisheries the names, registration numbers, length, tonnage and horse-power of all French, Dutch, West German, Danish, Belgian and English motor fishing vessels within this country's 200-mile fishing zone.

The information requested is not available in my Department.

In view of the fact that this information is not available to the Minister or to the Department of Defence how is it proposed to have arrests of EEC boats carried out?

The arrest of a boat is based on observation and identification of a boat. Each boat, according to international marine law, carries a number and carries identification not only of its name but of its home port. I would think that the Naval Service would make the arrest in that manner. I have some further information that might be of use to the Deputy. The data required is not available at present but it is likely that it will become so in due course through sightings and boardings by the Naval Service in the 200-mile zone when the proposed strengthening of the Naval Service and the Air Corps takes place. If a licensing system is adopted for EEC vessels, as envisaged by the Commission, in the long term this would make the information readily available. We have some details of the number and size of French vessels operating in our waters as given to us by the French authorities: under 85 feet, 213; 85-125 feet, 146; over 125 feet, 97; total, 456. It is not clear at present whether these are registered or overall lengths.

Is the Minister now telling the House that if our naval boats go out to arrest any of these EEC boats they will be just using guess work, that they have no positive information to indicate the size of the EEC boats fishing our waters?

I am not so indicating.

Of course the Minister is.

In view of his original proposal on conservation can the Minister say how he intended or if he still intends to implement this proposal when obviously it would depend on the making available of the necessary information by those he was proposing to arrest?

I do not so accept. The Naval Service go out as they did last year and the year before. They identify a boat and board it. They ask to see its papers. They see them and if they wish they can measure the boat. There is no reason at all why the Naval Service cannot do their job.

Is the Minister trying to bluff the House? Is he not aware that there was no question of the size at that time? Is he not aware that it was just a question of a foreign boat fishing within the 12-mile limit? Irrespective of length it could then be arrested and taken in by the patrol boat. Is the Minister now trying to bluff the House with this kind of shilly-shallying information?

I have never tried to bluff the House and I do not shilly-shally.

20.