§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of fishing effort in UK fisheries identified by the EU Bycatch Regulation is conducted by vessels under 12 metres in length. [184896]
§ Mr. BradshawThe new Council Regulation to address cetacean bycatch requires the use of `pingers' on vessels of 12 metres and over in ICES divisions VI Id, e, f, g, h and j when using bottom-set gillnets or entangling nets. In ICES Area IV and division IIIa, the pinger requirement applies to vessels of 12 metres and over using bottom-set gillnets or entangling nets where the combination of net lengths used does not exceed 400 metres or where the mesh size used is greater than or equal to 220mm. The data is not available to identify the number of vessels falling in or out of the latter1412W categories; it is only possible to identify the total number of vessels using bottom-set gillnets and entangling nets in the areas concerned.
Bearing in mind these caveats and using 2003 fishing data, the proportion of UK fishing effort (days at sea) conducted by vessels under 12 metres and exempt from the pinger requirements of the EU bycatch regulation would be approximately 80 per cent.