Overview
Background:
A net fishery for salmon and sea trout has been in operation in the North East of England for at least 180 years.
As part of our duty to maintain, improve and develop salmon and sea trout fisheries in England, the Environment Agency has the power to licence fishing for salmon and migratory trout, and to make Orders setting limitations for the provision of net licences, known as Net Limitation Orders (NLOs).
NLOs are used to secure sustainable exploitation of salmon and sea trout stocks by controlling the number of licensed nets allowed to operate in specified fisheries.
In limiting the number of licences, we also consider the interests of those who are licensed to fish and are dependent for their livelihoods on the fishing, to ensure the economic impacts are minimised, as well as protecting vulnerable fish stocks.
In December 2012, the number of licences available in the Yorkshire and North East coast net fishery for salmon and sea trout was determined by the North East Coast (Limitation of Net Licences) Order 2012.
This order expires in December 2022.
The Environment Agency consulted interested parties between 17 May and 17 June 2022, to assist us in determining the future management of the net fishery after the expiration of the current NLO.
The consultation considered provisions for replacing the existing NLO, together with other means of regulating the Yorkshire and North East net fishery, including relevant legislation, national and regional fisheries byelaws and licence conditions. It also considered whether a beach net fishery for sea trout could be maintained.
We received 278 responses to our consultation, 265 via our online consultation webpage, and a further 13 by email.
We presented four options for managing the net fishery after December 2022. Each option would have some degree of impact on the livelihoods of beach net licensees and on the level of protection offered to stocks of salmon and sea trout exposed to the net fishery.
These options are summarised below:
Option 1 Do nothing. Allow the current NLO to expire in December 2022 without replacement. Anyone applying for a T or J net licence would be issued with one.
Option 2 Replace the 2012 NLO with a new reducing NLO with identical provisions - licences are restricted to those already operating in the net fishery, and as current licensees retire, the number of licences is reduced.
Option 3 Introduce a fixed NLO that caps the number of licences at the current level, such that as existing licensees retire, their licences are made available to other fishermen.
Option 4 Introduce an NLO which sets the number of licences available at zero, suspending all netting for sea trout.
Of the respondents who indicated a clear preference, no respondents supported Option 1 (0.0%) Option 2 was supported by 94 respondents (33.3%), Option 3 by 36 respondents (12.8%) and Option 4 by 152 respondents (53.9%).
Our foremost consideration is the protection of salmon and sea trout stocks, but we also consider the economic impact that any NLO, together with the other means of regulating the net fishery, would have on those who rely on fishing for sea trout as part of their livelihoods.
In regulating the fishery, we seek to achieve the best balance between providing vulnerable stocks with much needed added protection, while minimising the economic and social impacts of regulating the beach net fishery for sea trout. We will license a sea trout fishery as far as that is sustainable and consistent with providing adequate protection for fish stocks, in line with precautionary principles.
The benefits of allowing a sea trout net fishery must therefore be carefully balanced against any increased risks to salmon and sea trout stocks from the impact of that fishery.
We have assessed management options against the latest available evidence describing the performance of stocks of salmon and sea trout, the impact of the net fishery upon those stocks, the wider regulatory and policy framework and the socio-economic impacts for those participating in the fishery. We have also carefully considered the responses made to our consultation.
We recognise that factors other than exploitation in net fisheries impact upon salmon and sea trout stocks, and that marine survival is one of the most important of these factors. We are working with partners to address all factors affecting salmon and sea trout stocks under the Salmon Five Point Approach, including water quality, fish habitat and access improvements, as well as working to better control levels of exploitation.
Our Proposal
Having carefully reviewed the latest scientific evidence and considering the views expressed in consultation responses, and having regard for all other factors, we find the best balance between protecting fish stocks and allowing a net fishery, as far as that is sustainable, is achieved by allowing those netsmen currently operating in the fishery to continue to do so, and continuing to reduce the size of the net fishery over time as current licensees retire - that is, Option 2:
Replace the 2012 NLO with a new reducing NLO with identical provisions - licences are restricted to those already operating in the net fishery, and as current licensees retire, the number of licences is reduced.
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