Written question asked by Chris Ruane (Labour) on Friday, 4 January 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 8 January 2008. It was answered by Jonathan Shaw (Labour) on Thursday, 10 January 2008 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Irish Sea: Pollution

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effect of tribulyte tin from ships on the marine environment in the Irish Sea.

Answer: The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), together with colleagues in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland and the Fisheries Research Services in Scotland have carried out studies on the effects of tributyl tin (TBT) on dogwhelks in the seas around the UK, including the Irish sea. The results, based on surveys between 1994 and 2003, show that effects on reproduction only appear to be significant within a few hundred metres from point source discharges of TBT.

Secondary information