Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on the management and enforcement of cockling rights in each year since 2010; and what information her Department holds on equivalent spending by the Welsh Government.
Answered by George Eustice
Defra does not hold this information.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much revenue has been raised from licence fees for cockling in the River Dee estuary in each year since 2010.
Answered by George Eustice
Natural Resource Wales has confirmed that the total revenue raised from license fees for the River Dee Estuary cockle fishery under the Dee Estuary Regulating Order in each year since 2010 is as follows:
Year | Total revenue (£) |
2010 | 51,584 |
2011 | 52,576 |
2012 | 52,576 |
2013 | 68,900 |
2014 | 68,900 |
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what enforcement measures her Department has undertaken in relation to illegal cockling on the River Dee; how many prosecutions for illegal cockling on the River Dee her Department has brought in each year since 2010; and how many such prosecutions were successful.
Answered by George Eustice
All cockle fisheries within the Dee Estuary are controlled via the Dee Estuary Cockle Fishery Order 2008. Enforcement of the Order is a matter for Natural Resources Wales (NRW) as grantee of the Order.
Defra does not have information pertaining to the specific enforcement measures taken by NRW on illegal fishing occurring within this fishery.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what licence arrangements are in place during the closure of the cockle beds on the River Dee estuary.
Answered by George Eustice
Management of the cockle beds, which will remain closed, is a matter for Natural Resource Wales.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on (a) the management of fish, mussels, cockles and other seafood stocks in the River Dee estuary, (b) the reasons for the closure of the cockle beds in that estuary and (c) the projected date for the reopening of those cockle beds.
Answered by George Eustice
Fisheries is a devolved matter, and the Dee Estuary is a cross border fishery which is managed by the Welsh Government and Natural Resources for Wales for the Welsh part of the estuary. For the English part of the estuary, fisheries management is covered by my Department, the Environment Agency, the Marine Management Organisation, and the North West Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.
However, Natural Resources for Wales (NRW) has responsibility for managing the cockle fishery in the Dee Estuary (on both the Welsh and English sides) as grantee of the Dee Estuary Cockle Fishery Order 2008. NRW has taken the decision to not open the fishery this year due to insufficient stocks. It has suggested that it may be opened in July 2016 should sufficient stock be available.
I have not had any direct dealings with counterparts in Wales within the Dee Estuary fisheries management context or specifically in relation to the closure of the cockle beds.