Bycatch Risk Prioritisation Framework

Question

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the Bycatch Risk Prioritisation Framework.

My Lords, a report on the bycatch risk prioritisation framework will be published by the end of the year. The framework will identify where we expect bycatch risks to be greatest across the UK. This will help us to target monitoring and mitigation efforts on the species, areas, fishing gears and fisheries that need the most attention. The report will provide a snapshot of current understanding, while the framework will be updated over time.

I thank the Minister for her Answer. At the moment, every year, fishing boats are catching—this is an underestimate because not all boats are monitored—at least 10,000 seabirds, 1,000 cetaceans such as harbour porpoises, common dolphins, humpback whales and minke whales, and around 500 seals. That is absolutely appalling. Will the Minister take that back to this new Government, who want to do the right thing? When will the Government publish bycatch action plans for seabirds, cetaceans, seals and protected fish species? When will the Government require remote electronic monitoring on all fishing boats in UK waters, including those under 10 metres in length?

I am aware of the impacts on sensitive species. The noble Baroness outlined that very well. We recognise that different action plans can help towards progress in reducing bycatch by bringing co-ordination and structure, and targeting the species that are being impacted. It is important, however, to notice that these plans are complex. They require significant time investment to ensure that they are evidence-based and deliverable. The seabird bycatch action plan will be designed to provide a valuable template to build on for future plans. However, it is important that we ask whether we should be focusing on the action that this plan will enable us to take or spending all our time on writing different plans. We need to get this plan off the ground and working, and then we can use it as a template. On REM, we are now working towards making it a statutory requirement in the pelagic fishery. That will apply to UK and EU vessels. We are planning for it to become mandatory in other fisheries, in due course.

My Lords, when we left the European Union, we were told that one of the benefits of Brexit would be that we could manage our fisheries sustainably. However, the report from Oceana UK published last October showed that of the top 10 commercial stocks fished in UK waters, half are either overfished or in critical condition, and scientific advice on sustainable fishing is being ignored. When will the Government implement a sustainable plan for managing our fisheries that takes into account scientific advice?

I am aware of the report that the noble Lord refers to. It is important to raise this, because we need to continue to work on it. Through the negotiations that we have, we always want to achieve the very best possible outcomes for the UK’s fishing industry. However, at the same time, we must recognise that we need sustainability alongside that. There are always challenges that we need to work through. We will continue to work closely with the industry to improve our scientific understanding and to have a better understanding of management measures to protect fish stocks and improve sustainability.

My Lords, I note what the Minister said in her earlier answer about the complexity of this issue, but I want to ask about transparency, which is very important here. Will the Government publish the underlying evidence and risk assessments alongside the framework, so that Parliament, scientists and stakeholders can scrutinise how priorities have been determined?

As we move towards publishing the frameworks, I am sure that we will be taking into mind the request that the noble Baroness has made.

In response to the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, on remote electronic monitoring, the Minister talked about where it might be mandated but not the size of vessels. One of the issues in bycatch and discards is that smaller boats fishing in our waters are as responsible for that. Can she comment on mandating boats of all sizes?

We are looking to start with the larger vessels because that will make the biggest difference and have the biggest impact. From that, we will look at a mandatory rollout. We will look across vessels of all sizes, because we need to make the biggest difference.

My Lords, the English Atlantic salmon is also a victim of bycatch, yet it is on the IUCN red list of endangered species. The salmon is an easy to monitor species that is a key contributor to and indicator of the health of our native ecosystems. What progress has been made on rolling out the bycatch initiative to UK vessels and EU vessels, where this Government have given another 12 years of access to our fisheries? Will EU vessels be managed under this plan? I declare my interest as the owner of fishing rights in England and Scotland.

Perhaps I should declare my interest, as I have fishing rights in England for salmon and brown trout.

A lot of these issues are tied up with the negotiations that we are doing with the EU around fishing rights and what access the EU will have, so it is difficult for me to comment on that in any detail. On the salmon bycatch, this is an important question. We have some real issues with numbers of salmon, as the noble Lord knows. Defra has been exploring the different options to improve the data collection for salmon bycatch. That includes monitoring, using REM on vessels, so that we can have a clear picture, get more data and look at how best to target the problems that this is causing to salmon stocks.

My Lords, will my noble friend confirm that some of the best fishing is around the Falkland Islands? Will she also confirm that, as far as this Government are concerned, the Falklands are, always have been and will remain for ever British?

I think the answer to that is yes.

Will the Minister confirm that the Government still intend to meet their legal duties to achieve good environmental status for UK seas, given that bycatch is repeatedly cited as a key barrier to this? Can she tell us what quantified time-bound targets this framework will contain to try to get us to that aim?

My understanding is that the framework will be ongoing: we get it set up, we get it working, we collect the data and we monitor. It will also inform further frameworks going forward.

My Lords, I should perhaps declare an interest, as I took the then Fisheries Bill through your Lordships’ House. All that we have heard today very much chimes with what we heard when we had that consideration. I would like to ask the Minister what progress we are making on the redesign of nets, which was a subject we discussed because of the bycatch issue. There is also the imperative, with which I hope the Minser will agree, that we work with the fishing industry—alongside it—so that we make progress on maximum sustainable yields, which we all desire.