HC Deb 02 July 2003 vol 408 cc279-81W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what part(a) CEFAS, (b) her Department and (c) other British fisheries experts played in the EU research report issued in the week beginning 16 June 2003; and what account was taken of the impact of de-commissioning and days at sea limitation on fish stocks. [121719]

Mr. Bradshaw

I take it my hon. Friend is referring to the response that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has made to the request from the European Commission for a mid-year evaluation of recovery plans and management measures for cod. The ICES response was included in the report of the May meeting of the Advisory Committee on Fishery Management (ACFM), and was in part based on an earlier meeting of an EU Expert Group, which met in Brussels a few weeks previously. ACFM comprises a scientist from each member country of ICES (the current UK member is from Fisheries Research Services, Aberdeen, but a CEFAS observer was also present in another capacity). The EU Expert Group comprised a wide range of European experts including scientists from CEFAS, and industry representatives also attended on the first and last days. Defra officials are not involved in these scientific meetings.

ICES evaluated in particular the regulatory measures being adopted for cod in 2003 (relating to gear, TACs and restrictions on fishing effort). ICES was unable to cover in its evaluation the effects of effort restrictions and of decommissioning in 2003 at the level of individual fleets, due to lack of appropriate data. However, it noted that the effort limitations are expected to benefit the stock by reducing discards and by helping to reduce the amount of illegal, unreported or undeclared landings.

It should be noted that the 2003 assessment of the North Sea cod will not be carried out until September 2003, and that ICES' definitive 2003 advice on this and the latest Irish Sea and West of Scotland cod assessments will not be settled until the October meeting of ACFM.

John Thurso

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent consultations she has had with(a) the Scottish Fishing Federation, (b) representatives from the Scottish fishing industry and (c) Scottish stakeholders on the protection of the Darwin Mounds. [121647]

Mr. Bradshaw

The Department is in regular contact with the Scottish Executive, who consult the relevant Scottish interests on all live fishing matters, and my predecessor at this Department recently responded to correspondence on this subject from the Scottish Fishermen's Federation.

John Thurso

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to use the emergency powers available under the new Common Fisheries Policy framework regulation, (EC) No. 2371, in relation to the protection of the Darwin Mounds. [121649]

Mr. Bradshaw

We are pursuing with the European Commission the most effective means for the protection of Darwin Mounds. The emergency powers available to the UK under the new Common Fisheries Policy Framework Regulation, (EC) No. 2371/02 are not a practicable means of protection for the Darwin Mounds as the threat to the area would not meet the necessary criteria of being both serious and unforeseen. In addition, such measures could be imposed only for three months. Emergency powers are available to the Commission where the threat is serious, can be put in place for six months, renewable for a further six months and would allow time for more permanent protection to be developed and put in place. We are therefore pressing the Commission to use these powers.

John Thurso

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to designate the Darwin Mounds as a Special Area of Conservation. [121650]

Mr. Bradshaw

In parallel with consultations on Regulations that will transpose the Habitats Directive offshore, formal consultations on proposals to designate the Darwin Mounds will take place over the summer. The consultations will be supported by data already provided by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Subject to the conclusion of those consultations, the site will be proposed to the European Commission later this year, once enabling legislation is in place.

John Thurso

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has undertaken into the damage done to the Darwin Mounds in the last three years. [121651]

Mr. Bradshaw

The last surveys of the area were performed by Southampton Oceanographic Centre in 1999 as part of the AFEN project, and in 2000 for DTI. These surveys, however, concentrated on identifying the mounds and providing information on their extent and biology. Information on damage to the Darwin Mounds was obtained from sidescan surveys taken during the 1999 survey.

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many(a) cetaceans and (b) small whales she estimates were caught in fishing nets in each of the last 10 years. [122657]

Mr. Bradshaw

Information on the full extent of cetacean and small whale casualties caused by fishing is not available.

The Natural History Museum, Institute of Zoology and the Scottish Agricultural College, under contract to Defra, carry out post-mortem examinations on a sample of cetaceans and small whale casualties which occur on the UK coasts. Of the 949 post mortems carried out in England and Wales on cetaceans between September 1990 and December 2002 inclusive, 389 casualties were attributable to entanglement in fishing gear. Within Scotland, there have only been 14 cases of by-catch diagnosed in stranded cetaceans between 1992–2002.

Of the 75 post mortems carried out in England, Wales and Scotland on small whales since September 1990, 14 were due to entanglement in fishing gear.

Since 2000 the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), under contract to Defra, has carried out a number of surveys to estimate the level of small cetacean by-catch in UK fisheries. These surveys recorded for the offshore bass fishery 53 common dolphins caught in 116 hauls in 2001 and eight common dolphins caught in 66 hauls in 2002. However, by-catch information from other member states whose vessels operate in this fishery and elsewhere in UK waters is not available so it is not possible to produce reliable estimates of dolphin by-catch deaths within the UK 200-mile limit. It is for this reason that we have been pressing the Commission for urgent action to widen observer coverage of EU fisheries and to bring forward proposals for positive action to reduce by-catch.

Defra, along with the devolved Administrations, issued a consultation document in March this year outlining a UK by-catch response strategy. This sets out the extent of our knowledge of by-catch in UK waters and makes proposals for action to address the by-catch problem. The document has been placed in the Library of the House.