§ Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects the Dee Cockle Regulation Order to be implemented. [144779]
§ Mr. TouhigResponsibility for managing the Dee Estuary rests with the Environment Agency in its role as a Sea Fisheries Committee. As the Dee Estuary straddles the Wales/England border, Defra and the Welsh Assembly will act jointly to make a single Regulating Order under the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967, once the Environment Agency Wales, is in a position to submit a formal application for the Order. The Agency is in the process of obtaining written consents from landowners and it will forward an application when these are received.
Both the Welsh Assembly and Defra will ensure that the application is processed as quickly as possible under the terms of the 1967 Act, but the process can take up to two years.