Written question WQ93268
- Asked by
- Gareth DaviesConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 10 days
Question
What work is the Welsh Government doing to disincentivise fishing practices that lead to bycatch and instead promote other forms of fishing which are less likely to disrupt the marine ecology?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
In June 2022, the Welsh Government supported the publication of the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative (BMI) to address bycatch in Wales. The BMI sets out high-level actions under five policy areas covering seabirds, seals and cetaceans to reduce bycatch.
To avoid impacts on trade, the UK also must comply with international standards for the conservation of marine mammals. Consequently, since 2022 it has been mandatory for licensed fishers to report any bycatch of marine mammals within 48 hours of the end of the fishing trip. Bycatch by Welsh vessels is likely to be low if any due to the predominant gear types used by the Welsh fishing industry. To date there have been no reports of marine mammal bycatch by Welsh vessels.
Linked to this, the Fisheries Act 2020 sets out eight fisheries objectives to ensure we deliver a sustainable fishing industry and healthy marine environment. The Joint Fisheries Statement 2022 (JFS) provides further details of the policies to achieve, or contribute to achieving, the objectives in the Act largely through the implementation of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs).
FMPs are key tools to deliver sustainable and well-managed fisheries. The plans set strategic direction and provide a ‘road map’ for the management of key stocks including the development of future management measures. The design and structure of FMPs directly relate to the fisheries objectives including the bycatch and ecosystem objectives.
The Welsh Government is involved in the delivery of 30 FMPs over the lifetime of this JFS. Each of these plans will include actions in relation to the eight objectives. For example, the regulation of shore-based nets and the potential bycatch of migratory salmonids was raised as an issue during the consultation on the Bass FMP. As a result, the published FMP includes a short-term action to review the practice of shore-based and shallow inshore netting to determine whether additional protections are needed to prevent migratory fish bycatch. This action supports the bycatch objective and the wider FMP goal of minimising and, where possible, eliminating bycatch of sensitive species in bass fisheries.