HL Deb 21 June 2000 vol 614 cc27-8WA
Lord Mason of Barnsley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many fishing licences for stillwater trout and salmon have been sold in each year since the introduction of the national fishing licence in 1990. [HL2904]

Baroness Hayman

The national rod fishing licence was introduced in 1992, initially as an all-species licence. The present two-tier licence structure, introduced in 1994, does not include a licence specifically for stillwater trout and salmon.

Licence sales figures are:

Year1 Coarse and Trout2 Migratory Salmonid2
1992–93 911,000
1993–94 895,000
1994–95 965,000 37,300
1995–96 966,000 34,900

Year1 Coarse and Trout2 Migratory Salmonid2
1996–97 1,137,000 35,300
1997–98 1,164,000 32,800
1998–99 1,111,000 32,500
1999–20003 1,101,000 29,100
1 1 April to 31 March.
2 The two tiers are: "Coarse and Trout" covers non-migratory trout, char, freshwater fish (coarse fish) and eels. "Migratory Salmonid" covers salmon and migratory trout (sea trout) plus all of the species covered by the coarse and trout licence.
3 Provisional.

Lord Mason of Barnsley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many offences of fishing without a licence have been committed since the introduction of the national fishing licence in 1990; and how many persons have been charged with such offences. [HL2905]

Baroness Hayman

Figures are not available for the number of offences committed. The following table gives figures for the number of persons found to be fishing without a licence from 1996–97, when the data were first collected, and the number of prosecutions concluded for this offence in each year since the national rod fishing licence was introduced.

Year1 Number of persons found to be fishing without a licence Number of prosecutions concluded
1992–93 5,646
1993–94 4,600
1994–95 5,076
1995–96 5,868
1996–97 8,500 5,114
1997–98 6,348 4,837
1998–99 5,895 3,715
1999–2000 Data not yet completed
1 1 April to 31 March.