Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has put in place to ensure that the reintroduction of otters does not lead to a serious deterioration in fish stocks.

Otters are now present in each county in England and there have been no reintroductions since the 1990s.

There is little evidence to suggest that otters have a major impact on fish populations in rivers as a whole, though localised impacts in rivers could occur where otters have not previously been present for some time.

We recognise that in some instances otters can adversely affect those who keep ornamental fish, and can damage an individual’s business and affect angling in some still water fisheries. As a result there is provision through the Angling Improvement Fund, administered by the Angling Trust on the Environment Agency’s behalf, to help deliver improvements including projects to protect fisheries from predation. Further information can be found on the Angling Trust’s website at: www.anglingtrust.net