House of Commons - Environmental Audit

Select Committee on Environmental Audit Minutes of Evidence

Memorandum from the Environment Agency

SUMMARY

The Environment Agency recognises the impact that wildlife crime has, not only on our ability to conserve the diversity of important fish, animals, birds and plants but also on the value (economic and social) provided by such wildlife. Key issues are:

(i) The Environment Agency seeks to protect and improve the environment for the benefit of all wildlife. It has specific duties with regard to the conservation of aquatic wildlife. The Agency has a direct enforcement role in detecting and preventing crime with respect to fish and fisheries;

(ii) The Agency is active in responding to, and in improving its response to those elements of wildlife crime within its jurisdiction;

(iii) The Agency is in active discussion with Defra to secure improvements in freshwater fisheries legislation and to promote more effective arrangements for coastal fisheries and environmental enforcement;

(iv) Crimes affecting fisheries and wildlife can have irreversible effects that are difficult and costly to ameliorate, and can take many years to rectify. For instance, illegal fish movements can potentially lead to the virtual elimination of stocks in a water body or river with associated social and economic impacts;

(v) Penalties used should be regularly reviewed to ensure the most effective and efficient approach is used to deter and punish criminal behaviour;

(vi) There is a clear need, in the face of criminals operating across regimes for financial gain, to build on and extend integrated working across agencies and across Government;

(vii) The Agency supports action to divert people from the temptation of crime as well as robustly tackling those who succumb.

1. INTRODUCTION

i. The Environment Agency welcomes this opportunity to submit evidence to the examination of wildlife crime by the Sub-Committee to the Environmental Audit Committee.

ii. The Environment Agency (the Agency) is the principal body for environmental regulation in England and Wales. Its remit includes granting and enforcement of environmental licences, the apprehending of serious, illegal unconsented activity and the prosecution of environmental offences.

iii. The Agency's enforcement and prosecution activities follow a publicly available Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and Functional Guidelines that adhere to the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

iv. Of particular relevance to this inquiry, the Agency has duties to maintain, improve and develop salmon, trout, eel and freshwater (coarse) fisheries in inland and coastal waters (out to six nautical miles). It has powers to regulate and to enforce fisheries laws for these purposes across England and Wales. The Agency also has duties to further the conservation of aquatic wildlife and habitats and is a responsible body within the UK Biodiversity Action Plan for a number of species and habitats. Regulations under the EU Habitats Directive require the Agency to ensure the protection and improvement of specific habitats and species through delivery of its duties. The Agency is the competent authority for the delivery of the Water Framework Directive including out to one nautical mile to sea.

v. The Agency enforces fisheries laws to conserve fish stocks and to protect the social and economic value generated by fish and fishing. In England and Wales:

— Over three million people engage in the sport of angling with an associated annual expenditure by freshwater anglers of £2.5 billion (thousand million).

— Legal net fisheries (for salmon, trout and eels) have an estimated capital value of £3 million.

— Legitimate businesses moving freshwater fish for restocking generate an annual turnover of more than £21 million.

vi. Law-abiding anglers and fishermen, through licence fees, provide over 60% (£17 million) of the revenue supporting the Agency's work to maintain and improve fisheries. The remainder comes from Grant in Aid from Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government. In 2003/04 this amounted to £9.8 million.

vii. The Agency has a broader remit to protect and enhance the environment and to make a contribution to achieving sustainable development. This is subject to guidance from the Secretary of State(1) including guidance specifically on the delivery of the Agency's fisheries and conservation duties. The Agency is an independent advisor on environmental matters affecting policy making within Government and more widely.

viii. Of particular concern to the Agency (in the context of this Inquiry) are illegal fishing for salmon, trout and eels, illegal (unconsented) removals, transfers and introductions of fish and illegal activities impacting on protected aquatic wildlife species and habitats. The latter category includes unconsented or unauthorised discharges, developments or works in or on waterways and illegal disposal of waste affecting wildlife habitats.

ix. It is against this backdrop that the following responses to the Sub-Committee's questions are made. Should the Sub-Committee wish for additional clarification of any aspect, the Agency would be willing to provide further details.

2. WILDLIFE CRIME—SCALE AND IMPACT ("WHAT IS THE SCALE AND IMPACT OF WILDLIFE CRIME?")

2.1 Illegal fishing

Scale

Incidents of suspected illegal fishing come to the Agency's attention through reports from the public and from licensed anglers and fishermen (being promoted via the Emergency Hotline: 0800 80 70 60) and from Agency operations. Numbers of reported incidents across England and Wales have varied annually (see figures below). No clear trend can be detected.

The prices gained for wild salmon have declined over the past 20 years largely due to a significant increase in availability of farmed salmon. There is some evidence that this has reduced illegal fishing. Recent reductions in the legal catch of salmon, brought about by regulations to better conserve and manage stocks, have resulted in a recovery in market price of wild salmon (see below) that may attract more offenders.

Impact

Two thirds of the 63 principal salmon rivers across England and Wales have stocks that are under-performing and not achieving their conservation limits. In these circumstances illegal fishing poses an additional threat. Several of these rivers are Special Areas of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive. The Agency press releases at Annex 1 illustrate the potential scale and impact of illegal fishing for salmon, trout and eels. It might also be noted that salmon and sea trout fisheries often support economic activity in rural and sometimes disadvantaged areas. Expenditure by anglers on such fisheries across England and Wales is estimated to be in the order of £5 million annually. A recent study for the Scottish Executive(2) suggests salmon and sea trout angling in Scotland generates £73.5 million per annum. Eel fisheries are subject to unlicensed and other forms of illegal fishing. The European Commission has announced a European-wide eel recovery programme in response to evidence of a very serious decline in the eel population(3). In such circumstances it will be important to control legal fishing and to minimise illegal fishing.

2.2 Illegal fish movements

Scale

The law requires that all fish imports and movements of specified non-native species are licensed by Defra and that fish removals and introductions are consented by the Agency (excluding those into and out of registered fish farms). These regulations aim to minimise the risks of introductions of inappropriate fish species or of serious fish diseases. In 2003-04 the Agency consented over 9,000 legitimate fish removals and introductions and investigated 150 reports of unconsented fish movements.

Impact

Regulation of imports, introductions and removals of fish aims to minimise the risks of introductions of non-native and inappropriate species and the spread of serious fish diseases and parasites. The former issue parallels the threats posed by transfers of other animals and plants such as the grey squirrel, Japanese knotweed or giant hogweed. Fish moved into a new environment can have a variety of harmful effects on the indigenous stocks and potentially on other wildlife that can be difficult to predict. Transfers of diseases and parasites may be even more harmful. Norway experienced the loss of important salmon stocks in many significant rivers when the parasite Gyrodactylus salaris was introduced with fish moved from the Baltic region. The parasite infests the fish resulting in widespread mortalities. The authorities there had to take drastic action including exterminating whole river stocks using chemicals and investing in major stock recovery programmes. Such a situation could be seen as the fisheries equivalent of a Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak. There remains a risk that unregulated movements into and within this country could introduce this or similar pests. A common feature of the introduction of inappropriate fish species or of parasites and disease is that the harmful effects are commonly irreversible and ameliorating the impact is difficult and costly. A relevant example of this is the continued demise of the native crayfish caused by the spread of crayfish plague that is in turn caused by spread of its vector, the non-native, signal crayfish.

2.3 Unlicensed Fishing

The Agency also enforces the licensing of rod and line fishing (angling). This is to ensure proper compliance with the law, fairness and to promote a high level of licence purchase that contributes over 60% of the funding to support the Agency's wider activities to maintain and improve fisheries. This enforcement also serves to ensure that anglers are using the permitted, sustainable fishing methods. To achieve this the Agency aims to check the licence holding of angler numbers equivalent to 15% of licence purchases. In 2003-04, 1.24 million angling licences were sold. Agency officers detected non-compliance amongst an average of 4% of people checked at the water-side.

2.4 Offences affecting the conservation of aquatic wildlife

The Agency consents and licenses a variety of activities in protecting the environment. These include discharges to the environment, waste management activities and proposed works on rivers and watercourses. The Agency also acts as a statutory consultee in respect to planning authorisations and certain consenting roles of other authorities. People acting illegally, without proper consents, licences or permissions, whilst rarely deliberately acting against wildlife, can have a significant impact on habitats and so, potentially a longer lasting or more extensive effect. Such acts can be of particular significance where they come into contact with specially protected areas or vulnerable species. Statistics are hard to come by. The Agency press releases at Annex 2 provide examples.

2.5 Drivers for fisheries and wildlife crime

The experience of Agency officers shows that consistently the main motive for offences against fisheries and environmental law is financial gain. This might be direct gain or by avoidance of the proper costs of legitimate activity. The Agency is interacting with offenders well-known to police forces and who, over time are active in different criminal activities—for instance an individual known for fish movements offences and illegal waste disposal; or salmon poachers known to the police for car thefts and drug dealing. It is apparent that increased pressures on certain areas of crime can lead to a diversion of attention to other illegal activities perceived as lower risk including wildlife and other forms of environmental crime.

3. ADEQUACY OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK ("IS THE FRAMEWORK OF . . . LAW AND REGULATION ROBUST ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH WILDLIFE CRIME EFFECTIVELY?")

3.1 Protecting aquatic wildlife

The Agency does not have general powers to further conservation (with the exception of the conservation of fish); it has a general duty. The Agency applies this duty through powers developed for other purposes. Therefore, whilst measures can be taken to conserve wildlife through broader (for instance flood defence, water resource or water quality) consenting and operational activities, the Agency has only limited involvement in related enforcement issues.

There are of course sites with special protection in law—Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Areas for Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and RAMSAR sites. Protection of these sites is enforceable by the appropriate authorities (English Nature and Countryside Council for Wales). Although the Agency does not have a direct role it is aware of wider concerns that effective action against criminal harm in connection with these sites is difficult to achieve under current legislation. This applies as much, if not more to marine protected sites as to those on land.

3.2 Fisheries legislation

Defra sponsored the Review of Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries that reported in 2000(4) and recommended a number of improving changes to existing law and policy. The Agency is now working with Defra to draft new legislation to replace and consolidate current laws and to address the agreed recommendations from the Review. It is hoped that this will lead to a better capacity to regulate higher risk aspects, including fish movements and at-risk stocks and will extend the powers available to the Agency. Work is also continuing in collaboration with Defra and the Scottish Executive to refine laws applying to fisheries on the England/Scotland border.

3.3 Marine fisheries laws

The Agency's duties regarding salmon, sea trout and eel fisheries extend out to six miles to sea where it regulates and enforces net and trap fisheries for these species. The Agency also acts as the sea fisheries authority in and around a number of estuaries around England and Wales. It is also represented in several of the Management Groups established to lead integrated action to support the candidate Marine Special Areas for Conservation around our coasts. There have been a number of recent, important reviews of marine management to which the Agency has contributed including:

— The National Audit Office review of fisheries enforcement in England, April 2003(5).

— The EFRA Select Committee Inquiry into the marine environment, March 2004(6).

— The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report, "Net Benefits: A sustainable and profitable future for UK fishing", March 2004(7).

In essence, concerns remain that:

— arrangements between regulators are over complex, inconsistent and with a potential for duplication and inefficiency;

— the current legal framework is not sufficient to give protection to marine species and habitats;

— policy towards marine management needs to be better integrated and follow an ecosystem approach; and

— management arrangements should be improved to support such an approach and make enforcement more effective.

Defra initiated the Review of Marine Fisheries and Environmental Enforcement in September 2003(8). The Agency is contributing to that Review and has proposed that sea fisheries powers out to six nautical miles should be transferred to the Agency. The view has been offered that this would enable an ecosystem approach, deliver greater efficiency and effectiveness and support delivery under the Water Framework Directive.

4. RESOURCES, POWERS AND RESPONSE ("DO . . . BODIES . . . HAVE SUFFICIENT RESOURCE AND POWERS? DO THEY TREAT WILDLIFE CRIME WITH . . . DUE GRAVITY?")

4.1 Corporate commitment

In its Corporate Strategy (Making it Happen)(9) the Environment Agency sets out amongst its key roles those of efficient operator, modern regulator and champion of the environment. Its core values include a focus on environmental outcomes, working in effective partnerships and being robust. Relevant to this Inquiry and reflecting the priority given to wildlife crime, three of the Agency's corporate targets are:

— To reduce the illegal and unreported catch of salmon.

— To reduce the illegal movement of fish.

— Making demonstrable progress towards biodiversity action plan targets.

4.2 Enforcement and prosecution policy

The Agency enforces and prosecutes environmental offences according to this published policy. Key principles embraced are firm but fair regulation, proportionality in the application of the law and securing compliance, consistency of approach, transparency about how the Agency operates and targeting of enforcement action. Using its powers under fisheries legislation the Agency prosecuted for serious fisheries offences (excluding for angling licence offences) on 35 occasions in 2002-03 and 27 in 2003-04. Formal cautions were issued in, respectively, another 13 and six cases.

4.3 Expenditure

In 2003-04, the Agency spent £3.2 million on enforcement against serious fisheries offences. Grant in Aid to support the Agency's work on fisheries provides a significant proportion of the resource for enforcement. In 2003-04 the combined contribution from Defra and Welsh Assembly Government was £9.8 million. Fishing licences provide the majority of the revenue for the Agency's wider fisheries work, amounting to £17 million in 2003-04.

4.4 Agency powers

The Agency has a range of powers under the fisheries legislation. The Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 provides that an officer warranted by the Agency as a water bailiff holds the powers and duties of a police constable. The 2000 Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review(4) recommended a number of improvements to the Agency's powers. The Agency is working with Defra to draft potential new law including addressing these recommendations. The Agency is also contributing to Defra's Review of Marine Fisheries and Environmental Enforcement(8) to promote consideration of alternative arrangements in that arena (see also paragraphs 3.3 and 5.4).

4.5 Power of penalty

The Sub-Committee received evidence from the Agency in its earlier Inquiry into Crime and the Courts. Specific to the current Inquiry, the average level of fines and costs resulting from the Agency's prosecutions of fisheries offences are shown below.

Average fines and costs from fisheries prosecutions (£s)—2003-04


	Illegal fishing for salmon, trout & eels	Fish movement offences	Angling licence offences

Average fine	240 (range 50-1,500)	440	61
Average costs	345 (range 0-1,900)	1,560	58

A minority of the prosecutions for serious fisheries offences led to a custodial sentence. The Agency would prefer to see stronger penalties for those offences that directly represent a risk to fish or their environment. The Agency is currently reviewing the potential use of a fixed penalty arrangement for angling licence offences. More consideration by the courts of alternative penalties (including, for instance community sentences) would be of value. In relation to marine fishing the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit(7) has recommended wider use of administrative, as opposed to criminal penalties. The Agency can see merit in this approach provided that principles of justice and the ultimate sanction of a criminal penalty for the most serious and persistent offenders are maintained.

4.6 Specialist judgements

The 2000 Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review(4) recommended a need for more specialism and greater expertise in courts handling fisheries cases. The Agency has previously recommended to the Sub-Committee that development of nominated judges and magistrates with special knowledge of environmental crime would be beneficial. This should include enhanced understanding of fisheries and other wildlife crimes. The Agency has supported the Magistrates Association in developing training material on environmental crime, including for fisheries offences.

5. DIALOGUE, CO-OPERATION AND INTERACTION ("IS THERE SUFFICIENT DIALOGUE AND CO-OPERATION ACROSS GOVERNMENT AND AMONGST THE VARIOUS RESPONSIBLE BODIES?")

5.1 Working with the police

The Agency has established good relationships with police forces. At a national level a memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Association of Chief Police Officers and recently has been reviewed and improved. This covers such matters as the sharing of intelligence, access to databases and mutual working arrangements. Locally, across the 26 Agency Areas in England and Wales, officers have established contacts with police forces. Good practices, including offering awareness raising seminars on specific areas of environmental crime and developing closer links with police wildlife liaison officers, are actively shared across the Agency.

However, the Police Service has recently implemented the National Intelligence Model with support from the Home office to invest in training and systems. This modern approach to policing aims to be pro-active rather than reactive, an aim common to the Agency. To improve the effectiveness of collaboration with the Police Service the Agency needs to similarly update and modernise its enforcement practices.

There are also staff health and safety issues to consider and the Agency provided evidence to earlier Inquiries in this sequence on the numbers of threatening behaviour incidents experienced by Agency staff—many of these occur during the various forms of fisheries enforcement work.

5.2 Working with other Government agencies

In enforcing fish movement laws, the Agency works closely with Defra's Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) Fish Health Inspectorate. The CEFAS Inspectorate focuses on imports of live fish and the movement of non-native fish by dealers and fish farms. The Environment Agency regulates and enforces movements of fish between and into inland fisheries. The two agencies share the Live Fish Movement Database used for recording and tracking transfers and introductions of fish. In this work and in other aspects where protected wildlife species and habitats are concerned, the Agency also collaborates closely with English Nature and, in Wales with the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW).

In addition, the Agency works with HM Customs & Excise, Inland Revenue and the Department for Work & Pensions when evidence suggests there is merit in doing so, for instance in regard to fish imports, VAT, Tax, or benefit fraud.

As suggested in the Agency's previous evidence to the Sub-Committee, environmental crime covers a wide range of offences and can involve several Government departments and numerous enforcement agencies and services. Evidence to the Environment Agency suggests that determined criminals are clearly operating across regulatory regimes and geography and as financial rewards potentially increase the current pattern may get worse. To combat this and ensure a co-ordinated and effective response, working across Government and associated agencies is essential.

5.3 Co-operation on the coast

As noted above, in several estuaries and in some coastal areas the Agency acts as sea fisheries authority and regulates fishing for sea fish and shellfish. In other areas around the coast, contacts are well established with the relevant Sea Fisheries Committee and, as locally appropriate, with Defra's Sea Fisheries Inspectorate, HM Customs and Excise and/or the Department of Defence. Arrangements include cross-warranting of officers, sharing of equipment, exchange of intelligence and collaborative operations.

5.4 Recommended improvements for the marine environment

The 2000 Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review(4) recommended that there should be a review of the working arrangements between the Agency and the Sea Fisheries Committees to promote more effective management of inshore fisheries. The National Audit Office review of fisheries enforcement in England recorded a need to enhance the effectiveness of enforcement of (marine) fisheries regulations(5). The Defra Review of Marine Fisheries and Environmental Enforcement(8) is expected to respond to these issues. As noted above (3.3) the Agency has proposed a transfer of sea fisheries powers and duties to the Agency to deliver a more efficient and integrated service. The EFRA Select Committee Inquiry into the marine environment(6) recommended better integration of policy and approach across Government departments to support better protection of the marine environment. The Agency believes that its proposal to the Defra Review would be a significant step towards achieving that aim.

5.5 Working to prevent crime

The foregoing evidence, as requested, has largely focused on the response to wildlife crime. The Agency in its fisheries activities is also working in a number of partnerships with the potential to reduce the incidence of crime. These arise out of a corporate aim to increase participation in angling and involve schemes to offer coaching and tuition in the sport and in the environmental issues connected with the sport. A key example is the "Get Hooked on Fishing" initiative developed by the Durham Constabulary and now supported in partnership by the Agency. The scheme targets young people in areas and situations where they may be at risk of involvement in crime and offers the opportunity for development through angling. Further information is provided in a brief at Annex 3. The Agency has promoted this scheme across Government to Defra, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and the Home Office.

April 2004

Attachments: Annex 1—Examples (press releases) of serious fisheries offences

Annex 2—Examples of offences affecting wildlife

Annex 3—Angling participation/Get Hooked on Fishing—brief.

REFERENCES

(1) Statutory guidance to Environment Agency on its objectives and contribution to sustainable development

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/ea/sustain/index.htm

(2) Economic impact of game and coarse angling in Scotland 2004

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/00019079

(3) European Commission announcement on the threat to eel stocks

http://europa.eu.int/prelex/detail_dossier_real.cfm?CL=en&DosId=185710

(4) Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Review 2000