§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with(a) the European Commission and (b) other EU member states regarding proposals to reduce cetacean by-catch in the past year. [155945]
§ Mr. BradshawThe importance of reducing dolphin and other small cetacean by-catch has been raised by the UK at ministerial level with the Fisheries Commissioner on a number of occasions and bilaterally with France. In particular, the UK has pressed in February 2003 for the1252W introduction of a observer programme across the EU to broaden the information available about which fisheries, and which vessels, are involved in the dolphin by-catch problem.
Following this, the Commission published, on 24 July 2003, a draft Council regulation concerning the incidental by-catch of cetaceans in fisheries. Discussions on this proposal are currently taking place at official level and will come to a future Council of Minister's meeting for adoption.
§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to place observers on UK fishing vessels to examine the causes of the cetacean by-catch. [155947]
§ Mr. BradshawAs part of Defra-funded research, the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) has in recent years placed observers on UK vessels in a number of fisheries to monitor small cetacean by-catch.
As part of a new five year Defra-funded contract which started in 2003, SMRU has continued to place observers on UK vessels in the offshore bass fishery and plans to monitor other pelagic trawl fisheries and selected gillnet fisheries. This work is intended to provide improved estimates of annual by-catch levels of harbour porpoise and common dolphins, and to improve our understanding of how, where and why such events occur.