Will the Cabinet Secretary set out a clear timetable for progressing the assessing Welsh fisheries activities project and, most importantly, implementing management measures in relation to ‘purple’ risk activities?
The Assessing Welsh Fisheries Activities Project is a comprehensive approach to evaluating all commercial fishing activity in Welsh waters and its interaction with MPA features. Its purpose is to identify where there is a risk the interaction between fishing gear and a MPA feature could have a potential negative affect.
The purple assessments identify the highest risk between site feature and gear interactions. The assessments provide additional information to the fisheries evidence base enabling consideration of whether additional management measures should be implemented to avoid impacts on protected habitats or mobile species features.
The purple assessments have been published on the NRW website and my officials have begun to consider the output and possible future policy options. These options will include the desirability for introducing new statutory measures such as control on using specific fishing gear in certain areas, with stakeholders as part of routine stakeholder engagement.
As the AWFA project is still active, with future stakeholder engagement planned it would be premature to set a timescale without full consideration of the policy options available. The next stage of the AWFA will be considered as part of the work programme of the Welsh Marine Fisheries Advisory Group (WMFAG) meeting in early 2018.