HC Deb 23 July 2004 vol 424 cc829-30W
Mr. Paterson

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her estimate is of the financial contribution to the economy of recreational sea fishing in Britain broken down by principal categories of expenditure. [184708]

Mr. Bradshaw

A recent report commissioned by Defra on the economic contribution of sea angling estimates a figure of £538 million for England and Wales. This figure relates to total direct and indirect expenditure on the sport. Expenditure varies between shore and boat anglers, but on average about 42 per cent. of the total is spent on purchase and operation or chartering of boats, 26 per cent. on tackle, and 32 per cent. on food, accommodation, transport and other costs.

Mr. Paterson

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether catches landed by recreational fishing vessels are subject to the Common Fisheries Policy quota restrictions. [184814]

Mr. Bradshaw

EU Regulations governing the Common Fisheries Policy require account to be taken of all landings, with certain specified exceptions, for the purposes of quota management: there is no exemption for landings made by recreational fishing vessels. However, within the UK, vessels engaged in recreational fishing are not generally subject to quantitative restrictions on landings: they might be prohibited from making further landings if it became necessary to close a fishery to the commercial inshore fleet, or to the UK fleet as a whole, when the UK's quota for that fishery had hem taken in full.

Back to