1. I am the Chief Executive of the North Western and North Wales Fisheries Committee (NWNWSFC)

2. The Sea Fisheries Committees were created pursuant to Act of Parliament – currently the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 1966. They comprise local authorities and persons appointed by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs or the Welsh Assembly Government. They are also quite separate from the four Fisheries Departments in the United Kingdom and from the Marine Fisheries Agency. The Sea Fisheries Committees manage inshore waters out to points 6 miles offshore through byelaws made according to a statutory procedure and signed into law on behalf of the Secretary of State or the Welsh Assembly Government. Officers of the Sea Fisheries Committees have the powers of a Constable when enforcing these byelaws. In addition Sea Fisheries Officers have such other powers as are given by Statutory Instrument to enforce EC and national legislation. Although this legislation is generically labelled as ‘fisheries' some aspects of it are of a marine conservation nature.

3. At a full joint Committee meeting on 19 May 2006, the NWNWSFC resolved that I should provide a witness statement to the application by the Menai Strait Fishery Order leaseholders for permission for Judicial Review of the granting of a Food and Environment Protection Act (FEPA) licence for the construction of the marina at Gallows Point.

4. The NWNWSFC has a direct interest in this proposed development as the Grantee of the Menai Strait Oyster and Mussel Fishery Order 1962. This Order covers part of the Menai Strait which would be lost to the fishery if this development were to proceed.

5. I refer to a map of the Menai Strait which can be found at page 305 of tab 4 in the Permission Bundle. This map highlights the mussel lays and the foot print of the proposed marina. These 6 lays are leased by the NWNWSFC to local mussel farmers who used the areas to cultivate and farm mussels. The NWNWSFC receives an annual rent from the leases and does not receive any percentage of any "catch". The terms of the leases are for the cultivation of oysters and mussels only.

6. The NWNWSFC is also responsible for ensuring that the fishery is carried out and developed under the terms of the order.

7. The NWNWSFC also has responsibility for enforcement of fisheries legislation. Construction of the marina on the area of the Fishery Order would damage the fishery. The 1967 Shellfish Act makes damaging the fishery a criminal offence.

8. The proposed marina will cover and destroy the vital inter tidal area of area 4. This is leased to a company called Deepdock Limited. The inter tidal area is vital as it allows mussels to develop hard shells with a reduced risk of predation. This allows a high degree of mussels to be farmed in the area. Whilst area 5 also has an inter tidal area, destruction of area 4 will reduce the areas mussel stock by an estimated 40%.

9. It is likely that the other areas will also be affected indirectly during the construction process. The sediment created by the disturbance of the sea bed will undoubtedly spread throughout the Menai Strait and will affect all the mussel lays. I am also concerned that the amount of vessels using the marina will affect the condition of the water in the area and affect the mussel cultivation.

10. The culture and harvest of mussels for food in the Menai Strait is the largest operation of its kind in the UK. It contributes business activity in excess of £10M per year into the North Wales economy. The Welsh Assembly Government ("WAG") is aware of the productivity of this industry because we are duty bound to provide them with annual accounts detailing the industries productivity.

11. NWNWESFC has already expressed concerns about this FEPA licence in its response to the consultation. The Committee was not convinced that the hydrological studies undertaken for the EIA were adequate or comprehensive. The significant risk of alteration to the water current and sedimentary regime in the Strait leading to an increased likelihood of pollution resulting from construction and/or operation of the marina has not been reduced or eliminated by the conditions in the licence. Further studies could be undertaken by the developer as part of the EIA to further analyse and assess the risk of damage resulting from the development. It is also a concern that the EIA used to obtain the FEPA licence was produced 7 years ago. The mussel industry has changed in that period and the EIA will not reflect the present status.

12. The letter states that the WAG Minister received advice from CEFAS. We have seen that advice which recommends against the granting of the FEPA licence on the grounds that the proposed Marina could significantly alter the hydrological regime leading to the possibility of damaging pollution in the Straits and damage to the mussel cultivation industry. CEFAS also recommended further studies that could be undertaken to further analyse and assess the risk of damage resulting from the development

13. CCW advice was that the development would not require a full AA under the Habitats Directive. Following the ECJ Wadden Sea Judgement in September 2004 (ECJ 09/09/04 C-127), the requirements for AA have been greatly extended. It is necessary for the Developer to prove that there will be no significant effect on SAC features. There does not appear to have been any attempt by CCW or the Developer to bring such proof forward. The CEFAS advice was that there may be a pollution impact but the grant letter does not show how CCW have considered that advice and satisfied themselves that there will be no impact. The Committee does not consider that it is reasonable to conclude that an AA is not needed in the face of the CEFAS advice.

14. The granting letter recognises the concerns expressed in the principal sources of advice it received (CEFAS, CCW, NWNWSFC and others) but concludes that the concerns can be addressed by including monitoring conditions in the licence. The NWNWSFC noted that monitoring could only take place after the development had started. By that stage, it is reasonable to assume that any damage resulting from the development would already have commenced. Also, by that stage it is likely that it would not be possible to restore the unimpacted state of the area even if the development could be stopped.

15. The NWNWSFC recognises that marinas and fisheries are important to the North Wales economy. The mussel culture fisheries are not transferable and have been under development since 1962. The leaseholders have invested in the Menai Strait with the expectation of continuing without interruption to the end of the Fishery Order in 2022. This investment is jeopardised by the marina proposal and the Committee does not accept that alternative locations for the marina have been properly examined. The Committee considers there are suitable locations within 1-2 miles which would be outside the Strait and pose no risk to the fishery.

16. The Committee considers that the inward investment and employment benefits estimated to result from the development of a marina have been greatly exaggerated in the planning application. As users of marinas around the coast of North Wales for berthing patrol boats, the NWNWSFC officers have direct knowledge of this industry and we do not believe the figures proposed in the planning application have been correctly estimated. Less than 10 jobs could be expected to be created and the income generated by the operation would be correspondingly low. The mussel industry employs 20-30 FTE staff and generates upwards of £10M per year for the local economy. The Committee considers that the statement that ‘the generation (by the marina) of much needed employment and business for the area outweighed any disbenefits’ is not a reasonable conclusion from the evidence.

17. The Minister has concluded that the FEPA application can be determined even though, if implemented, the licence could result in a criminal offence being committed. The NWNWSFC does not believe that it is reasonable for a Government Department to grant a licence for an activity which could be criminal. The Committee considers that the legality of the activity should be determined before the licence is granted.

18. On page 1 of the letter granting the licence the Minister states that the location of the development would be adjacent to the Menai Strait mussel fishery. This is incorrect. The development would be partly on the Fishery Order area and would reduce the area of the Order. The NWNWSFC believes that the marina would irreversibly damage the fishery and therefore be an illegal act as set out above. This statement in the letter appears to suggest that the marina and the Fishery Order can co-exist which is incorrect and misleading.

19. The consultation period from 29 Dec 2005- 16 February 2006 was shorter than normal Government consultations and was conducted over a holiday period. The NWNWSFC is concerned that all interested parties may not have had proper opportunity to respond.

20. Eight of this Committee’s members are directly appointed by WAG. They are appointed by WAG as being representatives of WAG and the local fishing communities within the committee's district. All of them are unanimously opposed to the granting of the FEPA.