Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - Third Report

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Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 21 January 2004.

CONTENTS

Terms of Reference

Summary

1 Introduction

Recent initiatives

Our inquiry

2 Extent of the cetacean by-catch problem

Population estimates

Harbour porpoise

Bottlenose dolphin

Common dolphin

By-catch estimates

Harbour porpoise

Bottlenose dolphin

Common dolphin

Other species of dolphin

3 Fisheries implicated in cetacean by-catch

By-catch of harbour porpoise

By-catch of bottlenose dolphin

By-catch of common dolphin

Pelagic trawl fishery for sea bass

4 UK's legal position

Legal obligations to protect small cetaceans

ASCOBANS

EC Habitats Directive

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Extent of UK's jurisdiction

Imposing emergency measures under the Common Fisheries Policy

5 Assessing the Government's proposals

Strategy document—a welcome step forward

Timing of implementation

6 Compulsory use of pingers on certain set net fisheries

Recommendations contained in Defra's strategy document

Summary of proposals

Proposals contained in European Commission's draft regulation

Pinger use in the English Channel

Pinger use in the Celtic Sea

Practical implications of requiring mandatory use of pingers

Enforcement difficulties

Costs to fishermen

Voluntary observer scheme

Risk of habitat exclusion

Imposing other restrictions on bottom-set gill net fisheries

7 Taking action in respect of pelagic fisheries

Recommendations contained in Defra's strategy document

Summary of proposals

Cetacean by-catch in the pelagic fishery for sea bass

Trials of separator grids

Addressing cetacean by-catch in the sea bass fishery at the European level

Cetacean by-catch in other pelagic fisheries

Evidence of by-catch in these fisheries

Need for monitoring in other pelagic fisheries

8 Considering restrictions on fishing effort

Recommendations contained in Defra's strategy document

Summary of proposals

Mortality limit schemes

Evidence received

Our assessment

Designating Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive

Progress on designating SACs

Restricting fishery activities in SACs

9 Need for further research and data collection

Recommendations contained in Defra's strategy document

Summary of proposals

Proposals contained in European Commission's draft regulation

Further research into small cetacean populations

Expanding by-catch monitoring schemes

Conclusions and recommendations

Timing of implementation

Compulsory use of pingers on certain set net fisheries

Taking action in respect of pelagic fisheries

Considering restrictions on fishing effort

Need for further research and data collection

Formal minutes

Witnesses

MINUTES OF EVIDENCE

Monday 3 November 2003

Monday 10 November 2003

Wednesday 3 December 2003

List of written evidence

Written Evidence

List of unprinted written evidence

Reports from the Committee since 2001

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Prepared 30 January 2004