Written question asked by Marcus Jones (Conservative) on Tuesday, 30 November 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 2 December 2010. It was answered by Lord Benyon (Conservative) on Wednesday, 8 December 2010 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Angling

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of progress in the (a) protection and (b) improvement of coarse and non-migratory trout fisheries.

Answer: Course and non-migratory trout fisheries are protected under various legislative measures. Under the Environment Act 1995, the Environment Agency (EA) has a statutory duty to ““maintain, improve and develop fisheries for salmon, trout, eels, lampreys, smelt and freshwater fish””. In addition there are UK obligations under the European habitats directive that covers several freshwater species and habitats. Continued and effective management of fisheries is essential to defining and achieving ““good ecological status”” as required in the water framework directive.In general the status of non-migratory freshwater fish stocks is encouraging. Coarse fish numbers are increasing and are a big improvement on two decades ago, when many rivers were heavily polluted, with fish communities restricted in distribution and numbers. Many non-migratory trout are caught in put-and-take fisheries on still waters, and improvements to these depend largely upon local stocking policies. Wild non-migratory brown trout are the same species as migratory brown trout and the juveniles cannot be distinguished, and so it is not possible to assess their status independently.Regular monitoring is undertaken to help identify where improvements to fish populations are required and where additional protection is needed to prevent them from deteriorating.

Secondary information