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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the recent Solent bass survey; and what steps she plans to take in response to the findings of that survey.

The 2014 Solent bass survey provides confirmation of five successive poor year classes (2008 – 2012) and some initial indications of an improvement in numbers of one‐year‐olds from 2013, although the impact of the latter on future stocks will depend on subsequent survival.

These findings are consistent with the most recent scientific advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), reflecting an ongoing trend on a wider scale that European bass levels are unacceptably low and action must be taken at EU level to reverse the decline.

The EU has published draft proposals for measures to apply to both recreational and commercial sectors in 2015. We expect these will be discussed at December Fisheries Council. Once the final form of any EU agreement is known we will subsequently consider additional domestic measures that will include a review of the minimum landing size.