Austin Mitchell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Austin Mitchell on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many inshore fisheries and conservation authorities in England have bylaws to prohibit the setting of intertidal nets; and how many land-based officers in each authority police and enforce those bylaws.

George Eustice

Most Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) in England have byelaws which affect net fishing activities in the intertidal zone. These byelaws vary between IFCAs, with each Authority prescribing certain net specifications, geographic areas, time restrictions and other limitations. Details of each IFCA’s byelaws can be found on their respective websites.

The IFCAs with byelaws relating to intertidal nets are:

· Cornwall IFCA

· Devon and Severn IFCA

· Eastern IFCA

· Kent and Essex IFCA

· North Eastern IFCA

· North West IFCA

· Northumberland IFCA

· Southern IFCA

· Sussex IFCA

Isles of Scilly IFCA is the only Authority not to have any byelaws relating to intertidal nets, as this is not a fishing activity that takes place in the Isles of Scilly.

Most IFCAs have enforcement officers based both on land and at sea. These officers enforce all byelaws, not specifically those concerning intertidal nets. The latest figures held by Defra are:

Cornwall IFCA: 12 officers

Devon and Severn IFCA: 8 officers

Eastern IFCA: 10 officers, 3 land based

Kent and Essex IFCA: 2 land based officers, 6 sea based officers

North Eastern IFCA: 6 officers, 2 dedicated land based

North West IFCA: 8 mostly land based officers

Northumberland IFCA: 8 officers and 1 part time

Southern IFCA: 10 officers

Sussex IFCA: 4 officers