Post by Hoppy on Nov 17, 2005 19:55:23 GMT -1
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT:
CCW = Countryside Council for Wales:
EA = Environment Agency for England & Wales:
EAW = Environment Agency Wales:
FRAWC = Flood Risk Assessment Wales Committee (formerly Flood Defence Committee):
NRA = National Rivers Authority:
WAG = Welsh Assembly Government.
D FISHERIES REGULATION
D.1.6. BAILIFFS & ENFORCEMENT.
No single issue has caused so much hostility towards the EA as the apparent lack of an adequate force of full-time fishery bailiffs engaged on active front-line enforcement work to combat illegal fishing in rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
CARCASS TAGGING:
The respective Governments in England and Wales have accepted in part the need to make provision in any new fisheries legislation for the provision of a scheme of ‘Carcass Tagging’ as a means to simplify enforcement and control the market for illegally caught fish. The EA appears to have doubts about the merits of this scheme because of the initial set-up and annual administration costs and its stated belief that illegal fishing for salmon is no longer a serious problem (see D.1.6.).
D.3.4. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
The existing structure of fragmented responsibility and dichotomous legislation for the administration and enforcement of fisheries regulations in estuaries and coastal waters among the Environment Agency, the Sea Fisheries Committees, the Sea Fisheries Inspectorate and the Countryside Council for Wales is unsatisfactory. Any change to reduce costs, pool resources and budgets and improve enforcement capability and efficacy is welcomed subject to the following very important caveats: -
AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT
The grave lessons learned from the disastrous impact of caged-salmon farming on wild salmon and sea trout stocks other parts of the British Isles should be applied to the regulation of any parallel developments for rearing salmon and other marine fish species in the coastal and estuarial waters of Wales.
D.5.6. COMMERCIAL SALMON NET FISHERIES.
The number of licences available each year to fish by commercial means for salmon and sea trout in tidal waters has reduced dramatically in recent years. This has resulted from the continuing decline in salmon stocks, the increasing restrictive regulations on fishing effort imposed to conserve remaining stocks and other privately funded initiatives to reduce the overall rate of exploitation by financially compensating netsmen who choose to voluntarily relinquish their historical public right to fish in tidal waters.
CCW = Countryside Council for Wales:
EA = Environment Agency for England & Wales:
EAW = Environment Agency Wales:
FRAWC = Flood Risk Assessment Wales Committee (formerly Flood Defence Committee):
NRA = National Rivers Authority:
WAG = Welsh Assembly Government.
D FISHERIES REGULATION
D.1.6. BAILIFFS & ENFORCEMENT.
No single issue has caused so much hostility towards the EA as the apparent lack of an adequate force of full-time fishery bailiffs engaged on active front-line enforcement work to combat illegal fishing in rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
- The EA/EAW should now enter into a candid dialogue with its fishery stakeholders to explain its current enforcement strategy. This should include a statement of the financial, legal and other constraints under which it must now operate. This would then open the door to a more constructive dialogue designed to address the special needs and priorities of Wales, the weaknesses in the current enforcement system and the ways by which anglers and fishery owners can work with the EAW to overcome those weaknesses and help to support to the EAW in the provision of a more efficient and effective level of enforcement designed to meet the special needs of Wales.
- The 0800 Emergency Hotline number for reporting poaching and pollution incidents is clearly not working in Wales. The system should be thoroughly reviewed and consideration given to providing a bi-lingual service (preferably located within Wales). Response times and feedback must be improved. The EAW should set its own criteria for determining the ‘immediate call-out’ category accorded for determining the immediacy of the response to a report of illegal netting.
- The EAW should review the feasibility of reconstituting the former system of recruiting a volunteer force of honorary bailiffs from within the fishery community in some suitable form that accommodates the safe-working and other legal constraints under which the EA is now obliged to operate. This force would work under close supervision by the EAW and its main purpose would be to undertake routine surveillance, habitat monitoring and other environmental work on behalf of the EAW, the fishery owners and the CCW (on SSSI and SAC sites).
- Consideration should be given to identifying and providing the legislative framework and powers under which such a volunteer force of honorary bailiffs would operate. If it is not possible to provide such powers on a joint England & Wales basis, WAG should look to make such provision under the ‘Framework Arrangements’ for Wales.
- Every opportunity should be taken to improve enforcement in estuaries and coastal waters from pooling the manpower, equipment and other resources of the EAW and Sea Fisheries Committees whenever possible. [See D.3.]
- The EA should be required to substantiate its claim that illegal fishing for salmon is no longer a problem:
a) in absolute national terms,
b) in specific regional terms and
c) (most importantly in view of the parlous state of many salmon stocks) in relative terms on those many rivers that are currently failing to achieve their scientifically based conservation limits.
CARCASS TAGGING:
The respective Governments in England and Wales have accepted in part the need to make provision in any new fisheries legislation for the provision of a scheme of ‘Carcass Tagging’ as a means to simplify enforcement and control the market for illegally caught fish. The EA appears to have doubts about the merits of this scheme because of the initial set-up and annual administration costs and its stated belief that illegal fishing for salmon is no longer a serious problem (see D.1.6.).
- The statutory power to introduce a Carcass Tagging Scheme at some future date if and when needed should be incorporated into any new fishery legislation.
- In addition to its practical benefits in enforcing the statutory regulations to combat illegal fishing, any decision on whether or not to introduce such a scheme should take into account its other important and practical benefits in:
a) improving the accuracy and reliability of catch statistics,
b) enforcing statutory catch limits to control the rate of lawful exploitation that might be imposed nationally for the rod and net fisheries,
c) in providing a means for private fishery owners to enforce voluntary bag limits that they choose to introduce on their individual fisheries that are more restrictive.. - It should be noted by the EA that the proposed introduction of a similar carcass tagging scheme for the recreational and commercial bass fishery would facilitate the introduction of a parallel scheme for migratory salmonids if resources were to be pooled during the development and administration of both schemes. [See D.3.3.]
D.3.4. COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
The existing structure of fragmented responsibility and dichotomous legislation for the administration and enforcement of fisheries regulations in estuaries and coastal waters among the Environment Agency, the Sea Fisheries Committees, the Sea Fisheries Inspectorate and the Countryside Council for Wales is unsatisfactory. Any change to reduce costs, pool resources and budgets and improve enforcement capability and efficacy is welcomed subject to the following very important caveats: -
- The present unified system must be maintained whereby a single statutory body is responsible for the management and regulation of salmon and sea trout (and other diadromous species) throughout the entire period of both the marine and freshwater phases of their life-cycles. This must continue to include responsibility for the regulation and licensing of the commercial fishery for salmon and sea trout in tidal waters.
- Every opportunity should be taken to strengthen the relevant legislation to enable all forms of commercial and recreational fishing for marine finfish species inside the headland of river estuaries to be regulated when and where salmon and sea trout are most vulnerable to illegal and inadvertent capture in those fisheries.
- WAG should note that many of the regulations proposed in the ‘BASS Report’ on the “Revised Management of the U.K Bass Fishery” could have very significant incidental benefits for the conservation of sea trout in estuaries and near coastal waters in Wales. They could also do much to simplify enforcement. [See D.2.3.]
- The CCW should be encouraged to make greater use of its powers to conserve marine ecosystems in designated SAC sites around the Welsh coast to safeguard the feeding areas and migration routes of protected migratory fish species in other designated SAC sites in Wales (i.e. salmon and shad).
AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT
The grave lessons learned from the disastrous impact of caged-salmon farming on wild salmon and sea trout stocks other parts of the British Isles should be applied to the regulation of any parallel developments for rearing salmon and other marine fish species in the coastal and estuarial waters of Wales.
- WAG should not support or encourage the development of finfish aquaculture located within the marine environment.
- All future developments (including shore-based units) should be the subject of a comprehensive environmental impact assessment. This should include the risks posed to wild stocks from diseases and parasites and their on-farm treatment and also from genetic ‘pollution’ when escaped farm fish breed with wild stocks.
- Any obvious deficiencies in the powers provided by the existing legislation to effectively regulate any future growth of the aquaculture industry in England & Wales should be identified and rectified in advance of any initiatives to promote the growth of the industry in Wales.
D.5.6. COMMERCIAL SALMON NET FISHERIES.
The number of licences available each year to fish by commercial means for salmon and sea trout in tidal waters has reduced dramatically in recent years. This has resulted from the continuing decline in salmon stocks, the increasing restrictive regulations on fishing effort imposed to conserve remaining stocks and other privately funded initiatives to reduce the overall rate of exploitation by financially compensating netsmen who choose to voluntarily relinquish their historical public right to fish in tidal waters.
- Regulations imposed by the EAW to conserve adequate spawning stocks of salmon and sea trout and maintain the overall rate of exploitation at a sustainable level must be applied equally to both the rods and nets regardless of the consequences. The needs of the fish must take precedence over any other consideration.
- The existing dispensation granted to netsmen in Southwest Wales that allows them to continue fishing for sea trout during the extended close period at the start of the season when salmon fishing is prohibited is flawed. It should be reviewed in the context of the parallel need to protect early running sea trout.
- The fact that it is not possible at present for the WAG to allocate a greater share of the total allowable catch to any sector of the fishing community on the basis of social and economic considerations and enhanced community benefits must be addressed in any proposals to modernise the current fisheries legislation.
- The angling community should be made more aware of the option available to it for paying financial compensation to any licensed net fishermen who may choose to relinquish their right of fishing voluntarily by drawing attention to the success of recent privately funded ‘buy-out’ schemes in Wales and England in this context. The provisions of the local NLO must be amended to reflect the reduced number of nets after any such ‘buy-out’ for all time.
- The EAW should give careful consideration to the introduction of special measures to maintain the continued operation of forms of Heritage Net Fishing that are unique to Wales. [See K.1.]
- Although the EA provides rod-licence holders with periodic publications to keep them informed of new developments, it has no similar procedure for communication with the licensed salmon netsmen. The EAW should produce a periodic newsletter for commercial salmon netsmen to rectify this regrettable omission. [See F.3.2.]