Sir Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the accuracy of the statistics published by Wildlife and Countryside Link showing the unintentional killing of (a) seals, (b) dolphins and (c) other protected species as a result of certain types of fishing UK waters; and what steps she will take to reduce this scale of loss.  [9497]

[Due for Answer on 18 June]

ANSWER

The Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs (Stephen Morgan): Minister Hardy attended the launch of Wildlife and Countryside Link’s “Hidden in the Haul” report. The department is considering the report’s detail.

To understand and address bycatch, Defra funds a range of initiatives including:

• The Bycatch Monitoring Programme, which reports annually on bycatch rates analysed by fishing gear type.
• The Cefas fisheries observer programme which uses scientific observers on vessels to collect data about bycatch.
• The Clean Catch programme, which works collaboratively with UK fishers to gather data on bycatch and develop and trial mitigation measures.
• The Bycatch Risk Prioritisation Framework project which aims to provide quantitative and spatial information on bycatch risk per region for sensitive marine species and will inform strategic decision-making about further monitoring and mitigation of bycatch.
• Developing a Seabird Bycatch Action Plan for England with stakeholders, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, to address seabird bycatch in English waters.