Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what quantity of fish can be landed without being required to be reported or recorded by the Marine Management Organisation, if those fish have been caught by recreational anglers or by unlicensed fishermen and are not sold.
Answered by George Eustice
The requirement to report fish caught to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) only applies to licenced commercial fishing vessel owners.
Recreational sea anglers can fish for most finfish and shellfish species unrestricted and without the need to report catches to the MMO. However, recreational sea anglers are obliged to comply with EU minimum landing sizes and catch limits for certain species, for example those currently set under EU regulations for bass.
A voluntary option for recreational sea angling catch reporting is available, via the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science managed Sea Angling diary: www.seaangling.org.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to introduce (a) catch recording and (b) reporting requirements on charter angling boats.
Answered by George Eustice
In the 2018 white paper “Sustainable fisheries for future generations” the Government committed to explore how we can further integrate recreational angling within the new fisheries framework, recognising the societal benefits of this activity and impacts on some stocks. This work is being progressed and includes engagement with the recreational angling sector.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the results of the survey conducted in 2016 by her Department and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science on the effect on the economy of recreational angling.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many fishing rod licences were provided through Post Office Ltd; and how much income has been generated from the provision of those licences in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The income generated for specific services is an operational matter for the Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Nick Read, Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the results of the survey conducted in 2016 by his Department and Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science on the effect on the economy of recreational angling.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licences his Department has issued to kill (a) cormorants and (b) goosanders in each of the last five years.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The numbers of cormorant and goosander licences issued between 2014 and 2019 (to date) by Natural England on behalf of the Secretary of State are given in the table below. Individual licences are licences issued to an individual or angling club/fishery. An area based licence is one licence issued to a primary contact which covers multiple individuals amongst a group of fisheries within a defined catchment or area.
Species | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 (to date) |
Cormorant (Individual) | 409 | 456 | 450 | 435 | 429 | 106 |
Goosander (Individual) | 31 | 35 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 9 |
Cormorant only (Area Based Licence) | 6 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 1 |
Goosander only (Area Based Licence) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cormorant / Goosander (Area Based Licence) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Asked by: Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) cormorants and (b) herons on immature fish in English river systems.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The overall impact on immature fish is not assessed at a national level.
However, in granting licences to control protected birds Natural England consider the evidence of damage provided by the applicant (for example the impact on immature fish) as well as the conservation status of the species.
Additionally, the Environment Agency have funded advisory posts to support affected fisheries using income from fishing licence sales. The current arrangement is part of the angling services contract awarded to the Angling Trust which pays for three posts that provide specialist management advice to angling clubs and fisheries owners impacted by cormorants and other fish predators.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to end the sale of rod fishing licenses at post office branches.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Environment Agency is not currently planning to end the sale of rod licences through the Post Office and is in the process of renewing its contract with the Post Office. This contract will apply only to England and Wales. It will include a two year break clause at which point the contract will again be reviewed.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 is taking to deter people from fishing without a licence.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Environment Agency undertakes a number of activities to deter people from fishing without a valid rod or net licence.
The principal mechanism used by fisheries enforcement officers is licence checking. Targets are set across Environment Agency areas linked to the number of fishing licences sold and during the 2017 to 2018 financial year (the last complete year of data), a total of 64,702 fishing licences were checked by fisheries enforcement staff.
2,257 anglers were prosecuted for fishing licence offences and successful prosecutions resulted in a total average penalty of £267 with total fines issued (including costs) totalling £583,483.
In addition the Environment Agency uses social media, produces a monthly newsletter, works with partners and attends angling and country shows to reduce evasion and highlight the consequences of fishing without a licence.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which species on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern are covered under UK Pathway Action Plans.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Pathway action plans (PAPs) are complete or in progress for angling, boating and zoos and aquaria sectors. There are also campaigns to reduce the spread of aquatic species generally (Check, Clean, Dry), and to reduce the risk of aquatic ornamental plants escaping into the wild (Be Plant Wise). These have been prioritised based on the threat posed to the UK by a much wider group of invasive non-native species than those listed as being of Union concern, including a group of freshwater species from the Ponto-Caspian region in south-east Europe which are not listed as they are native to part of the EU.
Of the listed species, the angling and boating PAPs should help to reduce the risk of spread of a number of listed aquatic plants (e.g. curly waterweed and green cabomba) while the Be Plant Wise awareness raising campaign is aimed at reducing escapes of ornamental plants (e.g. water hyacinth, floating pennywort, Nuttall's waterweed, broadleaf watermilfoil, water lettuce, Salvinia moss) and the zoos and aquaria PAP aims to reduce the risk of zoo and aquaria escapes such as Pallas's squirrel, small Asian mongoose, coati, raccoon, fox squirrel, Siberian chipmunk, sacred ibis and raccoon dog.