May. 20 2024
Source Page: New technology to help identify invasive speciesFound: Funded by rod license money, their work will ensure that the sport of angling is protected, and the health
May. 20 2024
Source Page: Social and Economic Impact Assessments for Fisheries Management Decisions {MMO1384}Found: The latter included consider ation of criteria related to levels of recreational angling, recreational
May. 16 2024
Source Page: Angler lands £443 fine after fishing illegally in BedfordshireFound: Environment Agency carries out enforcement work all year round and is supported by police forces and the Angling
May. 16 2024
Source Page: Angler lands £443 fine after fishing illegally in SuffolkFound: Environment Agency carries out enforcement work all year round and is supported by police forces and the Angling
May. 16 2024
Source Page: Anglers fined over £3,000 after fishing illegally in NorfolkFound: Environment Agency carries out enforcement work all year round and is supported by police forces and the Angling
Asked by: McArthur, Liam (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Orkney Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring or assessment it has undertaken to measure the (a) amount of plastic pollution in seas and waterways and (b) sources of any such pollution.
Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition
The Scottish Government currently monitors plastic pollution in the sea through microplastics in surface water, sea-floor litter, and beach litter. We have initiated work to collect data on plastic pollution in waterways though supporting and funding Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Upstream Battle project. The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy action plan contains a number of actions related to improving data capture on litter and flytipping, with the aim of improving our knowledge of these issues.
The Scottish Government microplastics monitoring programme began in 2013, and has undertaken annual surveys since that time. Microplastics are present in the surface waters of all Scottish Marine Regions, although have not been found to be present at all sample sites. Scottish Marine Regions next to the most urbanised and industrialised areas of the country have been shown to have higher concentrations of microplastics. Annual surveys continue to gather data, and would contribute to any baseline developed in the future.
Sea-floor litter data is collected during Scottish Government fish surveys which sample Scottish waters. There is now over 10 years of data, from 2012 onwards, which is used nationally and internationally as part of wider efforts to monitor changes in marine litter levels in the North-East Atlantic. There is evidence of an apparent decrease in litter density over time for some areas of Scotland’s seas.
The density and type of litter found on Scotland’s beaches has been recorded by the Marine Conservation Society since 1993. This data has been used by the Scottish Government to produce the pilot Scottish Beach Litter Performance Indicators. Beach litter loadings have been calculated for five sub-regions around the Scottish coastline. The amounts of litter found in the five sub-regions show a variety of trends, dependent on the litter type and location.
Information on these monitoring programmes has been published in Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020 and can be found at https://marine.gov.scot/sma/assessment-theme/marine-litter
Research and monitoring shows that the majority of litter which ends up in the sea or in waterways has come from land-based sources. These sources include on-the-go food and drinks containers, sanitary items incorrectly disposed of through the sewer system, and flytipping. Maritime and aquatic sources also contribute to litter found at sea and in waterways, and these include maritime industries such as fishing, aquaculture, and shipping, as well as other sources such as angling.
Mentions:
1: Cherilyn Mackrory (Con - Truro and Falmouth) long as their licences allow them to; they simply cannot dent the stocks.I am a great supporter of the angling - Speech Link
2: Daniel Zeichner (Lab - Cambridge) his recollection, how often it has been needed.I am also interested to hear the plan for managing the angling - Speech Link
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support sports clubs engaged in (a) swimming, (b) surfing, (c) angling, (d) canoeing and (e) other water sports who have impacted by water pollution and sewage discharges.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to improving the quality of our coastal and inland waters for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses it. The Environment Agency takes over 7,000 samples each year at England’s 424 designated bathing waters, which are used to determine the annual bathing water classifications. These classifications are displayed on signage at bathing waters and online on the Environment Agency’s Swimfo website, to allow bathers to make informed decisions before entering the water. Defra welcomes applications for bathing water designations in England for both coastal waters and inland waters such as lakes and rivers. Anyone, including swimming clubs, can apply to designate a site as a bathing water by following the application guidance available at: Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government is clear that the amount of sewage discharged into our waters is unacceptable. We have taken a series of actions to require water companies to improve how they manage wastewater. For example, we have set ambitious targets through the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan to reduce the use of storm overflows. This will drive the largest infrastructure programme in water company history: estimated at £60 billion capital investment in 25 years. To support these targets in the near term, water companies have committed to £180m of new funding over the next year to help tackle sewage spills. This is a new investment committed by water companies to deliver enhanced maintenance programmes to improve the sewer network and is expected to prevent more than 8,000 sewage spills polluting English waterways.
These measures will benefit swimming, surfing, angling, canoeing and all other water sports.
May. 08 2024
Source Page: Chief Scientist's Annual Review 2023Found: of growth, excluding native biodiversity, increasing flood risk, and degrading amenity use such as angling