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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered extending temporary licences to (a) crab and (b) lobster fishers who have been affected by recent trends in the number of octopuses.

No temporary licences are issued. To fish for shellfish, fishers need a shellfish entitlement on their fishing vessel licence from the Marine Manamgent Organisation (MMO) and if fishing in the 0-6 nautical mile zone, a permit from their local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA). In this case, applications may be made to the Devon and Severn IFCA