HC Deb 18 July 1985 vol 83 cc464-6
6. Mr. Patrick Nicholls

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the operation of Sea Fisheries Committees byelaws.

Mrs. Fenner

Sea fisheries committees, through the application of byelaws, can make a valuable contribution to fisheries conservation at local level. We are satisfied with the operation of those byelaws, but we recognise that the procedures governing their confirmation, set out in a statutory instrument dating from 1938, need to be brought up to date. A revision is now under discussion with the SFCs.

Mr. Nicholls

Will that revision take into account the circumstances in which scallop fishermen in my constituency can find themselves, namely, that their licences have been revoked by the Southern sea fisheries committee and that the advertisements giving notice of that intention are put into newspapers which the committee knows do not circulate in the area in which those fishermen live? Does that not amount to a substantial injustice? Will the Minister consider using her powers to revoke that byelaw, because an injustice has resulted?

Mrs. Fenner

I appreciate the difficulty with the present statutory advertising procedures for fishermen outside the district covered by that sea fisheries committee. Those advertisements were placed in seven local newspapers, and the committee met the statutory requirement. However, I do not accept that the restrictions imposed to safeguard scallop fisheries in the southern district were unjust. We are considering whether it would he advantageous to require SFCs to advertise in the trade press, which is widely read in the industry.

Dr. Godman

To what extent is the north-east England drift net fishery shaped by sea fisheries committee byelaws? The Minister must know that there is a growing demand in Scotland for that fishery to be outlawed. Will she ensure that the interests of those fishermen are not harmed by any changes in the law?

Mrs. Fenner

We are considering the net fisheries in the north-east area, and future arrangements for it are under review. We hope to announce our conclusions soon. A later question on the Order Paper may also relate to that matter.

Mr. Beith

Does the Minister recognise that the Northumberland sea fisheries committee is an extremely experienced body in the operation of its byelaws? Will she take good account of its advice on the matter raised by the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman), and on the Scottish Office's proposed regulations on the carrying of monofilament nets by boats? Will she ensure that the advice of the Northumberland sea fisheries committee is taken fully into account?

Mrs. Fenner

We always listen to the wise advice of the sea fisheries committees.

Mr. Soames

Does my hon. Friend agree that the sea fisheries committees could take a notable lead by banning the use of monofilament nets, as has already happened in Scotland? Why will the Ministry not do the same for England and Wales?

Mrs. Fenner

We have no evidence that monofilament nets cause any more damage to fish escaping than do mutlifilament nets. We have no intention of introducing a general ban.

Mr. Campbell-Savours

Where sea water netsmen for salt water species find that their interests come into direct conflict with those of anglers on rivers, how does the. Minister propose to resolve that dilemma? Is she aware that in west Cumbria it is almost impossible for sea netsmen to lay their fixed engine nets and that the law no longer favours them, although it should favour both sides?

Mrs. Fenner

The Ministry can review all such fisheries. As I said earlier, we are examining the north-east net fisheries for that very reason.

Mr. Mark Hughes

Will the Minister think again about monofilament nets? All the evidence shows that they are a disgrace and should be banned throughout our inshore fishing areas. Does she accept that the Opposition would welcome an urgent revision of all sea fisheries committee byelaws and the necessary statutory instrument to bring that about?

Mrs. Fenner

I assure the hon. Gentleman that the Ministry's directorate of fisheries research keeps the effect of those nets under constant review.