Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Seventh Special Report


GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

Conclusions and recommendations

Recommendation 1

In respect of the UK small cetacean by-catch response strategy, we commend Defra for having taken the initiative in putting together a useful discussion of the problem of small cetacean by-catch as it affects UK vessels and fisheries, and for having acknowledged the seriousness of the problem. (Paragraph 51)

Timing of implementation of the Government's proposals

Recommendation 2

We endorse the Government's decision to move ahead with implementing its own proposed mitigation measures, regardless of the timetable for implementing the Commission's draft regulation. We urge the Government to move with the greatest possible alacrity in implementing its proposals, whether or not the Commission's proposals make progress. Any further delay in acting to address the ASCOBANS target of reducing total anthropogenic removal of small cetaceans to below 1.7% of the best estimate of the total population is unacceptable. (Paragraph 54)

It became clear in the New Year that the Irish Presidency intended to pursue the speedy adoption of the Commission's proposals. As the UK had welcomed the proposals in principle and was looking for their early implementation, we supported this timetable. A compromise proposal was subsequently agreed at the March Agriculture and Fisheries Council of Ministers Meeting on 22/23 March. We made a number of changes to our negotiating position and, in doing so, took on board many of the Committee's concerns.

The regulation will require:

A copy of the current proposed text is attached (Appendix 1).

We will now implement the Regulation before considering whether further national measures are appropriate.

Recommendation 3

We urge the Government to continue to push for the speediest possible implementation of the Commission's proposals. (Paragraph 55)

Political agreement on an amended version of the Commission's proposals was reached at the Council of Ministers' meeting on 22 March. This proposal is expected to be adopted shortly.

Compulsory use of pingers on certain set net fisheries

Recommendation 4

We recommend that measures equivalent to those contained in Defra's strategy document in respect of the Celtic and North Seas should be put in place in respect of set gill nets used in the English Channel. (Paragraph 59)

Recommendation 5

We are extremely concerned by the restrictions that Defra proposes to place on mandatory pinger use in the Celtic Sea. We therefore recommend that the deployment of pingers be made mandatory on all bottom-set gill nets in the Celtic Sea, regardless of whether those nets are set inside or outside the six nautical mile limit. We urge the UK Government to argue at the European level for pinger deployment to be made mandatory on all bottom-set gill net fisheries in Community waters that could produce significant by-catch and in which an important reduction of incidental catches of cetaceans would be expected, regardless of the distance of the fishery from the coast. We also urge the Government to argue that it should be given power of enforcement in UK waters on this issue. (Paragraphs 63 and 65)

The Government dropped its opposition to pingers in Area VIId and inside 6 nm during negotiations. We argued against excluding vessels under 12 metres but there was not going to be majority support for including vessels below this length, and without this exemption the Council would have failed to reach agreement. Even the agreement eventually achieved was voted against by Spain and Italy.

Recommendation 6

We urge the Government to provide specific answers to the questions 'How will "effective" pinger operation be measured?' and 'Where will inspections of pingers take place?' as soon as possible, prior to implementing any of its proposals. (Paragraph 69)

The Council regulation sets detailed technical requirements for pinger usage to be complied with by masters of vessels. As with any other fisheries regulation, these requirements will be subject to inspection by British Sea Fishery Officers at shore and at sea. Member States are also required by the Regulation to take the necessary steps to monitor and assess by means of scientific studies or pilot projects, the effects of pinger use over time in the fisheries and areas concerned. The results from these pilot projects are to be reported on annually by Member States to the Commission and, after the second annual report, the Commission will report to the Council and the European Parliament on the operation of the regulation, including the quality of the pilot projects and may make appropriate proposals to amend the Regulation in the light of the data received from Member States.

Recommendation 7

We invite Defra to explain how it will ensure that any monitoring scheme involving voluntary carriage of observers provides comprehensive data on the effectiveness of pingers in reducing cetacean by-catch on all types of vessels laying bottom-set gill nets. We consider that, for any monitoring scheme to be effective, Defra will need to have the power to require any specified vessel to carry an observer, where Defra believes a vessel to be unreasonably refusing to carry an observer. (Paragraph 74)

The Council regulation makes observer coverage mandatory within a member states monitoring scheme on vessels over 15 metres and also as part of the pilot projects to review the effects of pinger usage and to monitor by-catch on under 15 metre vessels. These requirements give Defra powers to require any specified vessel to carry an observer. Masters of vessels not complying with the requirement to carry observers on board will be in breach of the Regulation.

Recommendation 8

If, in future, pingers are proven to exclude harbour porpoises from key habitats to an extent that is detrimental to populations, we recommend that the Government should give serious consideration to prohibiting the use of bottom-set gill nets in these areas altogether. (Paragraph 76)

The Regulation commits Member States to monitor and assess by means of pilot projects or scientific studies, the effects of pinger use over time in the fisheries and areas concerned. If pingers are found to exclude harbour porpoises from key habitats, then the review process under the Regulation will provide the means to address this. However, current scientific advice is that widespread pinger usage is not thought to cause significant problems for porpoise populations.

Taking action in respect of pelagic fisheries

Recommendation 9

We agree with Defra that there is clear evidence that the sea bass fishery has been responsible for significant numbers of deaths of common dolphins as a result of by-catch. (Paragraph 80)

Recommendation 10

We are encouraged by the results obtained to date from the separator grid trials, and we commend Defra for funding these trials over several seasons of the sea bass fishery. If the grids are to be implemented more widely in the pelagic trawl fishery for sea bass, it is important that ongoing monitoring of their efficacy continues to be carried out, over a number of years. (Paragraph 87)

The current Defra-funded trials at sea of the separator grid will continue until the end of the bass season, probably the end of April. We are looking to assess the results as soon as possible after that. This will give us sufficient time to act on the evidence before the bass fishery starts again in October/November. If the results of the current trial which restarted in November 2003, are as encouraging as in previous years, we would certainly consider how to introduce separator grids more widely and whether this can be best achieved by legislation. If the results show that separator grids are not effective then we will need to consider other measures.

We agree that scientific monitoring of any mitigation measure such as grids would need to be on-going to assess effectiveness in operating conditions.

Recommendation 11

If by-catch of small cetaceans is to be addressed effectively, action must be taken at European Community level. (Paragraph 89)

We agree and Community action has now been taken. The new Council Regulation will ensure that observer monitoring is carried out by other member states with vessels operating in pelagic fisheries in Area VII as a priority, such as the pair trawl fishery for bass. We supported this prioritisation. If the observations provide data to support the case for further action to address problem fisheries, we would expect the Commission to present proposals to take action as part of the review process required under the Regulation. If not, we would press the Commission for action.

Recommendation 12

We recommend that the Government should aim to reduce by-catch of the common dolphin in the pelagic trawl fishery for sea bass to within the ASCOBANS interim target of 1.7% by the end of 2005-06 sea bass season—that is, by April/May 2006. (Paragraph 90)

We are working through our trials of the separator grid device to reduce the incidental by-catch of dolphins in the pelagic trawl fishery to meet our commitments under ASCOBANS (to which the UK is a party) and the EU Habitats Directive. If we are unable to reduce by-catch through the use of this device within the timescale recommended, we will need to consider other measures. As other Member States form a large part of this fishery, Community action will be needed if any targets for by-catch reduction are to be met.

Recommendation 13

If the current separator grid trials do prove successful, we urge the Government to direct its best efforts towards convincing those other member states that are also prosecuting the pelagic trawl fishery for sea bass to adopt mandatory use of the grids. (Paragraph 90(a))

We are obliged under the agreed Regulation to report to the Commission on any research conducted to reduce the incidental capture of cetaceans in fisheries and the Commission is obliged to review this information and produce proposals as appropriate. This review process will provide an opportunity to press for the implementation of separator grids.

Recommendation 14

If other member states do not agree to deploy separator grids, or to take other effective mitigating action to reduce levels of cetacean by-catch, we recommend that the Government makes a formal request to the European Commission, asking it to impose emergency measures in the form of closing the pelagic trawl fishery for sea bass. (Paragraph 90(b))

If other Member States do not comply with the requirements of the Council regulation in relation to the use of pingers as mitigation devices, we will raise with the Commission and at Council. If separator grids prove to be successful, we would be seeking Community action to implement them on a mandatory basis. If they are not successful, we would need to consider further action, as outlined in response to recommendations 10 and 11 above.

Recommendation 15

We recommend that, in implementing its strategy document, the Government places much greater emphasis on moving quickly to set up long-term observer monitoring programmes for other pelagic fisheries that take place off south-west England, particularly in the winter months, such as those for mackerel, horse mackerel and tuna. (Paragraph 97)

The Council Regulation requires all member states to introduce observer schemes for pelagic trawls in ICES sub areas VI, VII and VIII from 1 January 2005. These schemes must be sufficiently representative by spreading observer coverage over fleets, times and fishing areas. We will be drawing up a sampling programme in the light of these requirements.

Considering restrictions on fishing effort

Recommendation 16

We recommend that the Government pursue discussions about the introduction of a cetacean mortality scheme at European level, particularly in respect of the pelagic trawl fishery for sea bass. We consider that such a scheme could provide a long-term management solution for that fishery, if agreement between all member states prosecuting the fishery can be achieved. (Paragraph 101)

The commitment to reduce by-catch to below the 1.7% target set by ASCOBANS is a more realistic approach to work to at present but we can reconsider this issue at the time of the review of the Regulation, due to take place in 2007/08. Community action would be required to implement such a scheme and improved by-catch and abundance data would be needed to support it, both of which are lacking at present.

Recommendation 17

We understand that further work is underway to try to identify areas to consider for designation as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for harbour porpoises: we consider this is a matter that should be addressed as a matter of priority. We invite the Government to set out, in its response to this report, the work it has done to date on identifying SACs for the harbour porpoise. (Paragraph 102)

Member States are required to propose for listing as SACs sites which host species listed on Annex II of the Habitats Directive which includes the harbour porpoise. During 2001 and 2002 two contracts were let by the statutory conservation agencies to analyse the data on harbour porpoise with the purpose of identification of possible SACs for harbour porpoise. The conclusions of this work, together with any recommendations for harbour porpoise SACs in UK waters, are expected later this year.

Recommendation 18

We urge the Government to pursue the issue of whether it is legally able to impose restrictions on fishing activities in Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) to resolution at the European level. If the Commission concludes that member states are not able to impose restrictions on fishing activities in SACs, we consider that some other action must be taken at European level, to ensure that the protection offered to marine species under SACs is meaningful. (Paragraph 105)

The UK is currently awaiting a response from the legal services of the European Commission to questions on the interaction between obligations for the protection of species and habitats under the Habitats Directive and competences for the fisheries conservation measures under the Common Fisheries Policy.

Need for further research and data collection

Recommendation 19

We agree with Defra that the Government should take action in order obtain more accurate estimates of small cetacean populations. (Paragraph 107)

Defra has committed 435k euros to a survey of abundance of small cetaceans in the North Sea and adjacent waters but the total projected cost of this project is of the order of 6 million euros. Defra has urged the Commission to join the UK in providing funding for this project which is being led by the Sea Mammal Research Unit and would provide reliable and up-to-date estimates of cetacean abundance. The study would also enable us to assess the significance of levels of by-catch in conservation terms.

Recommendation 20

We invite the Government to specify:

(a) what minimum percentages of fishing effort it considers would need to be covered by independent monitors in order to enable levels of by-catch to be assessed at a statistically valid level; and

(b) what categories of person it intends to employ to act as independent monitors. (Paragraph 112)

(a) The Council regulation makes observer coverage mandatory within a Member States statistically based monitoring scheme. It requires that, "as a general rule, monitoring schemes shall be based on a sampling strategy designed to allow the estimation of the by-catch rates of cetaceans for the most frequent species in the by-catch per unit effort by a given fleet to achieve a coefficient of variation not exceeding 0.30". Our scientists are content that this will ensure a statistically valid assessment. Where there is not sufficient good scientific data to give this level of confidence, the Regulation sets out minimum levels of fishing effort to be monitored for different fisheries. Again, we are content with the percentages agreed.

(b) The qualifications required of observers are set out in detail in the agreed Council Regulation at article 5. We, other Member States, will need to comply with these requirements in implementing a monitoring scheme.

Reporting back to the Committee

Recommendation 21

We recommend that the Government report back to us each year about the numbers of small cetaceans caught as by-catch, and on progress made in addressing the problem.

The Council regulation requires member states to provide a comprehensive annual report on observations of by-catch. The UK also reports each year on its activities in relation to small cetaceans to ASCOBANS (Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas). We would be happy to provide similar reports or copies of these reports to the Committee.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
April 2004


 
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