I should like to begin my remarks by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Banff (Mr. Duthie) for the very kind things he said about me. He was far too generous—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."] I did not expect "Hear, hear" to that remark; however, I will accept it. My hon. Friend speaks with great authority upon the fishing industry; and the fact that I shall only follow him on one point, which I regard as of vital importance, does not mean that I do not agree with him upon every other point he made, because I find myself in complete agreement. And when the hon. Member for Banff and I find ourselves in complete agreement, it is best for the Government to do what we suggest.

The main purpose of this Bill is the completion of a new industry, namely, the conversion of herring to oil and meal. Its subsidiary purpose is to transfer to the fisheries Ministers power to make grants or loans for the construction, improvement or repair of harbours; and to write off existing debts, subject to Treasury consent and approval. The Minister's own account of how this is done at present was sufficiently convincing to show that this is a wise and salutary administrative reform, and I want to congratulate the Government of having undertaken it. I wish it had been done thirty years ago; my life would have been a good deal easier if it had been.

If we take into account the legislation passed during and since the war to increase the powers and financial resources of the Herring Industry Board, the amount spent in general by the Board upon the interests of the industry, the amount spent in particular under the grant and loan schemes, and the amounts given through the Development Commissioners, by this very intricate method worked out with the approval of the Treasury, to fishing harbours in the form of grants or remissions of debt, it will be found that more public money has probably been spent upon the herring industry, having due regard to its size, than upon any other single industry in this country. I think that this was fully justified, and right. It is a lot of money in proportion to the size of the industry; but the herring industry is of vital importance to the prosperity of the northeast of Scotland in times of peace, and to the security of the country as a whole in time of war.

As I see it, the fundamental objective of the Bill is to take another step towards putting the industry on a sound economic basis. That is also the main objective of the House, and of both parties in the House, because there is no party quarrel on the subject of the herring fishing industry. The industry is to be put on a sound economic basis, first, by modernising an obsolete fleet; secondly, by reviving and expanding our oversea markets; and, thirdly, by creating and developing the new industry with which this Bill deals. If we can do these things it should enable maximum production to continue; and there need be no fear of any gluts, which were the bane of this industry in pre-war days.

Has the objective been achieved? In large measure I think the answer must be "Yes." First, the conversion of the herring fleet from steam to diesel-oil drifters has been virtually completed. Secondly, as my hon. Friend the Member for Banff said, the great Russian market has come back to us after an absence of nearly forty years; and oversea markets for canned herring are opening up and, until some restrictions recently imposed by Australia, were responding in a very encouraging way. I think there is a great future for the export of canned herring from this country.

I agree also with what the hon. Member for Leith (Mr. Hoy) said about Israel.The difficulties here are financial. We all know that Israel has not got the available cash and, in the circumstances, we are not prepared to allow the necessary credits. Even if we did, it is doubtful whether sufficient cash would be available. But I want to impress on my right hon. Friend the Minister that here in Israel there is a tremendous potential market for the sale of cured herring in every form. Many of the inhabitants in Israel come from countries in Europe which, in the past, were great consumers of this particular type of herring, which—let us face it—is not popular in this country.

Our people will not eat cured herring and I cannot imagine why. I think cured raw herrings are the best of the lot, and eat them in large quantities—alone. I wish only to say that there is a potential market in Israel of which we must never lose sight; and that we should watch its development, because we may find it of great value in the future.

Thirdly, this Bill is designed to complete and develop the meal and oil industry, which, also, has great potentialities. There is one point in connection with the building of these factories to which I should like to draw my right hon. Friend's attention, in the hope that he will pass it on to the Joint Under-Secretary to deal with when he replies to the debate. I do not think it will come in any way as a surprise to my right hon. Friend. What progress has been made in the construction of the factory at Peterhead? That was contemplated, approved and started a long time ago, and there have been some very peculiar delays.

I want—I have had an assurance from the Minister that he thinks it is likely—this factory to be completed in time for next summer's fishing. I should like him to say something on this point. In other words, I am asking for a further assurance on the specific subject of the factory at Peterhead.

I asked just now whether the main objective of the Government and the House to put this industry on a sound economic foundation has been achieved, and I said that in a considerable measure it has been. Does that mean that all is now well? I am afraid the answer to this question must be "No." As the Minister himself pointed out, the home market lags behind to an extent that is becoming alarming. I have given up the effort, which has lasted for thirty years, of trying to persuade the British people to eat raw cured herring. They will not do it, except in certain specific communities.

That is no reason why they should not eat good fresh herring, and bismarck herring, which are only slightly less good than straight-cured herring, and kippers. I think there is still a hangover from the kippers which we had during the war. And I am quite certain that, in the long run, the answer to the problem of the home market lies in a single word, which is "quality." We have to give the public the best.

I have discovered more than once in recent months, in some multiple shops in the English countryside, some slightly faded fresh herring; and the same applies to kippers. The public should only have the best, smoked for long enough with the right kind of wood. The dye does not matter. It is only a vegetable dye. What matters is when the dye is used to conceal the fact that the kipper has not been sufficiently cured. That matters a great deal.

I now want to come to what, in my opinion, is the most serious aspect of this matter, and I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Banff will agree with me, and that is the existing and pending shortage of crews. Why should that be? I think there are two reasons. First, there is the high cost of production, and particularly the cost of nets; and. secondly, the point to which my hon. Friend referred, the fact that the herring fishing crews are still classed—and, I believe, wrongly classed—as seasonal workers.

We all know that we are going through a period of moderate inflation at present; and many of us, when we are considering production costs and prices, are apt to underestimate the benefits obtained by all industries as a result of boom conditions—for example, the increase of purchasing power. It is not only the price of nets and of oil that has risen. The price of the end product has risen, too; and purchasing power with which to buy has risen.

We are a little inclined, when considering a particular industry, to get things slightly out of perspective. I give one example. The Russians are today paying for our cured herrings a good deal more than they did in 1913,which was the last time they bought them in any quantity. Nevertheless I suggest in all sincerity that the Government should look into the question of the price of nets, particularly drift nets. I am not satisfied that the prices which are now being charged are wholly justified. I am not asking for a subsidy; but I would ask my right hon. Friend to have consultations with his right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade about net prices.

While he is at it, perhaps my right hon. Friend will also look at the price of oil. I am thinking, in particular, of fuel oil for fishing vessels. I do not expect him to wage a war against the Standard Oil Company, of New Jersey, or against the oil companies generally. I am not asking for the moon; but there is one aspect of this question which affects the Government through the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Something might be done here in the very near future for the fishing fleets. I would be out of order if I explained precisely what I have in mind. I merely go back to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and say that I have recently been in communication with him on the subject, and I think it might be a good idea if the Minister also got into communication with him on the same subject, and put such pressure on him as he can.

I come now to the question of fishermen being classified as seasonal workers, which I personally regard as the most serious single aspect of the problem confronting the industry today. I feel sure my hon. Friend the Member for Banff would agree with me in that. I want to address a serious argument to the House, because I believe that the success or failure of this Bill depends largely on what the Government are going to do about it. I would fear for the future of the industry if nothing is done.

To make my point clear I want to emphasise that the character of the herring industry has changed to a very remarkable extent since the war. Despite the fall in demand to which the Minister referred, demand is not, in fact, being met by production. For two years running we have been unable to fulfil the Russian contract, and that is very unfortunate. The big fishing seasons which we used to know in the old days have undoubtedly moved south, and are of rather briefer duration.

Let me take, for example, the Shetland fishing, which has failed for the last two years to produce anything significant, and compare it with the quite astonishing summer fishing, not very long, but of an intensity unparalleled in the old days., which has taken place at Fraserburgh and Peterhead further south. There is also the strange disappearance of the herring from the Forth, which has already been mentioned by the hon. Member for Leith.All these things are not purely fortuitous. They are the result of some processes which are going on.