Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations he plans make at the EU Fisheries Council on EU proposals to implement a ban on sea anglers catching bass.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea’s (ICES) latest advice for bass points to a continued decline in biomass of the stock and recommends a zero catch in 2018. The European Commission has proposed further significant reductions in catches both from the commercial and recreational sectors for next year.

We are evaluating the scientific advice and Commission proposal very carefully. Our aim for the Fisheries Council meeting on 11-12 December will be to secure an EU package that ensures where further reductions in catches for both commercial and recreational fisheries are to be agreed, they should be proportionate to their relative impact. In this context, I am giving very careful consideration to the concerns raised by the commercial and recreational bass sectors, which will help inform my discussions at the Fisheries Council.