Cetacean Bycatch (Hansard, 16 January 2003)

§ Ms Atherton
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the trials into the use of exclusion devices developed by the Sea Mammal Research Unit to reduce the bycatch of cetaceans in pelagic trawl fisheries. [90777]
731W

§ Mr. Morley
During March and April last year the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St. Andrews University made encouraging progress in developing and testing separator grids during their monitoring work on the seasonal bass fishery off South West England. Some further work was carried out in December 2002 to refine the gear but planned trials at sea could not take place because of an accident involving one of the vessels chartered for the trial. The trial will now be resumed in spring once the commercial fishery restarts in order to further refine the system and assess its suitability for protecting dolphins in the fishery.

§ Ms Atherton
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the deaths of dolphins in Devon and Cornwall in December 2002; and if she will make a statement. [90779]

§ Mr. Morley
Full figures detailing the deaths of dolphins and other cetaceans in Devon and Cornwall in December 2002 are not yet available and so an assessment has not yet been made.

§ Ms Atherton
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what discussions she has had with other European Governments regarding cetacean bycatch; [90780]
(2) what recent discussions she has had with the European Commission on the issue of dolphins and other cetaceans being trapped in fishing nets. [90778]

§ Mr. Morley
I have written to Commissioner Fischler and to the French Minister pressing the need for action in this area and will continue to press the issue with EU Ministers. The Commission produced a draft discussion paper on these issues last year as part of its commitment under the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy to introduce measures to reduce cetacean bycatch. It is now for the Commission to bring forward concrete proposals, and when these come to the Council of Ministers for discussion I shall press for effective measures to be introduced.