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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has to improve the monitoring of UK fisheries to prevent (a) illegal incursions from foreign fishing fleets, (b) criminal behaviour directed by animal rights groups against lobster fishermen and (c) the theft of clams from Poole harbour. [188896] Mr. Bradshaw: United Kingdom Fisheries Departments maintain aerial and sea surveillance within UK waters to ensure compliance with fisheries legislation by all fishing vessels including those from foreign fleets. These arrangements are regularly reviewed. An essential element of effective enforcement at sea is co-operation between member states. This is something that the Government fully support. The UK is a signatory to the declaration by the recently-formed Scheveningen Group whose aim is to improve co- operation between North Sea coastal member states. We also intend to play a constructive part in discussions on the Community Fisheries Control Agency, one of whose key roles will be to co-ordinate member states' enforcement activities. British sea fishery officers are not empowered to deal with criminal behaviour by animal rights activists. The Government announced on 30 July in the paper "Animal Welfare--Human Rights: tackling animal rights extremism" a number of changes to strengthen the law on protests outside homes and harassment. These new proposals will strengthen on going action by the Government, police and Crown Prosecution Service and the courts to enforce existing legislation robustly and to ensure effective co-ordination to combat the criminal activities of extremists. The theft of clams from Poole harbour is a matter for the Southern Sea Fisheries Committee to consider. Under the Poole Fishery Order 1985 (SI 1985 No. 847) the Committee is responsible for imposing and enforcing licensing and other restrictions on the fishing or taking of clams in a large area of Poole harbour. The Committee is also responsible for regulating fisheries elsewhere in the harbour under other legislation.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

424 c1924W;424 c1921-2W; 188896

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Animal welfare Conservation Fisheries Protest Monitoring Lobsters Shellfish

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk