§ Annabelle EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who will lead the UK delegation at the December Fisheries Council. [142726]
§ Mr. BradshawI will lead the UK delegation at the discussions on fisheries at the December Agriculture and Fisheries Council together with Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development in the Scottish Executive and Ian Pearson, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will make a statement on the progress of trials of active acoustic deterrents; when the trials will be completed; and when she expects to make an assessment of their effectiveness; [143540]
(2) what type of fisheries will be covered by active acoustic deterrents deployment trials; over what timescale the trials will be conducted; and if she will make a statement. [143541]
§ Mr. BradshawDefra is grant aiding a trial by the Sea Fish Industry Authority to assess the technical viability of using pingers on gill nets to prevent porpoise bycatch. The first phase has just been completed and the next phase with pingers modified to improve performance and to assess longer term durability is likely to start in February 2004. The timescale for this trial has not yet been fixed. The results will be presented in a Seafish Technical Report.
The findings to date of these trials have been reviewed at a meeting of interested parties, including pinger manufacturers, under the auspices of a Biodiversity Action Plan for the protection of small cetaceans. This 1026W review has helped to inform the next stage of the trials. The trials will also be useful in determining the next steps of the UK Small Cetacean Bycatch Response Strategy on which I hope to make an announcement early in the New Year, in consultation with the Devolved Administrations.