Written question asked by Greg Knight (Conservative) on Wednesday, 11 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 October 2006. It was answered by Ben Bradshaw (Labour) on Thursday, 19 October 2006 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Shellfish

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to change the legal size limit for catching lobsters and crabs in UK waters; what consultations are taking place; with whom; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: A consultation on the legal size limit for lobsters is currently under way, which proposes to increase the minimum landing size of lobsters from 87mm to 90mm carapace length and asks for views as to whether this should be in one stage or incremental steps. It also asks for views on additional measures such as setting a maximum landing size.The 11-page consultation document is available on the DEFRA website, as is a list of consultees, which includes local authorities, fishermen's associations and universities: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/lobsterThe closing date for the consultation is 17 November 2006.Most English crab stocks are currently assessed as being fished sustainably, but there are growing concerns that they are at risk of being exploited beyond sustainable limits if fishing effort continues to increase. DEFRA will shortly be publishing a discussion paper on possibilities for controlling effort on fishing for brown crabs. An increase in the European Union minimum landing size for brown crabs is one of the possible measures upon which the Department is inviting comments before formulating more specific proposals.

Secondary information