Written question asked by Angela C Smith (Labour) on Monday, 11 July 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 13 July 2005. It was answered by Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour) on Wednesday, 13 July 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Cormorants

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's policy on cormorant control following its first winter of operation.

Answer: The cormorant model produced by the Central Science Laboratory is available on the Defra website:"http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/piscivorous.htm#cormorants"and provides predictions of the effect of different licensing strategies on winter cormorant numbers in England. Information on the actual number of birds removed under license, and any change in winter cormorant numbers as a result of the policy are not yet available. The model and its predictions will be reviewed and updated as new information becomes available.The effects of the new procedures are currently being reviewed by the Department in the light of experience gained from last season. It is expected that the review will be completed by early September.

Secondary information