63 Mr. Garland asked the Minister for the Marine when Mulroy Bay was first designated as suitable for shellfish culture; the reasons it was decided to withdraw this designation; and when this decision was made.

Mulroy Bay was designated in 1982 under Council Directive 79/927/EC on the quality required of shellfish waters. The decision by the Department of the Environment, in consultation with my Department to revise the designation of the waters of Mulroy Bay under Article 4.3 of the directive was taken in 1988 in light of the decline in annual scallop spatfalls experienced in the bay from 1983 onwards.

Spat levels in the bay have considerably recovered over the last two years due to weather conditions, a BIM stocking programme and fishing restrictions introduced by my Department. In light of this, the question of redesignation of Mulroy under the directive is being considered by my Department which has in the meantime taken over responsibility for implementation from the Department of the Environment.