Fishing Gear

(asked on 9th July 2014) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to quantify and mitigate the effects of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear in UK and international waters.


Answered by
George Eustice Portrait
George Eustice
This question was answered on 15th July 2014

Provisions concerning the retrieval and reporting of lost fishing gear are contained in the EU Fisheries Control Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No.1224/2009). Defra has not held meetings specifically to discuss lost fishing gear. However, officials frequently discuss this Regulation with the fishing industry and other interested parties. Masters of all EU fishing vessels are required to report any lost fishing gear to the vessel's flag state. This requirement was notified to all licence holders when the current control regulation was introduced, and the Marine Management Organisation plans to issue additional guidance that will remind vessel masters of their responsibilities in this respect on the www.GOV.UK website in the near future.

As part of Defra's work in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS) we actively participate in discussions relating to understanding the extent and impact of entanglement of cetaceans in lost fishing gear.

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