T. R. Glover (Chairman) Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council

J. M. A. Boyle Conwy County Borough Council

R. J. Gorman Welsh Assembly Government

E. J. Griffiths Ceredigion County Council

C. Grunshaw Lancashire County Council

H. P. Hughes Gwynedd County Council

D. Jewitt DEFRA

T. Jones Welsh Assembly Government

M. J. Kaiser Welsh Assembly Government

D. T. Knowles Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

S. J. Lockwood Welsh Assembly Government

A. Marklew DEFRA

K. Mould Welsh Assembly Government

M. R. Owen DEFRA

R. L. Owen Anglesey County Council

D. Owens Denbighshire County Council

N. Parker DEFRA

V. K. Riley Lancashire County Council

O. J. Roberts Welsh Assembly Government

W. T. Roberts Anglesey County Council

E. D. Tew Conwy County Borough Council

C. Woods DEFRA

S. M. Atkins W. Cook

I. V. Andrews G. Hughes

M. R. Boyce

201 CHAIRMANS ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. The Chairman welcomed Mr. Colin Charman, Fisheries Officer, Marine and Fisheries Agency, Holyhead.

2. The Chairman welcomed visitor Mr. Philip Tarran. He also welcomed Mrs. Angela Burton who had arrived during the course of the meeting.

3. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors I. ap Dewi, D. A. Brown, A. J. Markley and Messrs. R. Brassington, A. Brecknell, G. Hancock, A. Jones, M. Porter and T. J. Watson. An apology for absence was also received from the Committee’s Finance/Admin Officer, Mr. John Davies.

4. Item 12 – Gallows Point Marina Proposal. An e-mail from Andrew M. Jackson, Solicitors, had been tabled.

5. The Chairman announced that the Vice-Chairman (England), Councillor V. K. Riley, had recently been inaugurated as Mayor of Wyre.

RESOLVED

That Members’ congratulations on his inauguration as Mayor of Wyre be passed to Councillor Riley.

202 DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY AND NON-PECUNIARY INTEREST IN AGENDA ITEMS

Members declared their interest in Agenda items as follows:-

Item 6. Mussel Fishery Licences 2007/08 – Ballast Bank. Mr. T. Jones, Mr. K. Mould, Mr. C. Woods.

Item 7. Conwy Mussel Reseeding 2007/Conwy Mussel Fishery Order licences 2007/08. Mr. T. Jones, Mr. K. Mould.

Item 8. Cockle Fisheries – End of Closed Season. Mr. D. Jewitt, Mr. T. Jones, Mr. K. Mould, Mrs. M. R. Owen, Mr. C. Woods.

Item 9. Slipper Limpets (Crepidula fornicata) in the Menai Strait – Update.

Mr. T. Jones, Mr. K. Mould.

Item 10. Proposed Regulating and Several Order for Morecambe Bay. Mr. D. Jewitt, Mr. T. Jones, Mr. K. Mould, Mrs. M. R. Owen, Mr. C. Woods.

Item 12. Gallows Point Marina Proposal. Mr. T. Jones, Dr. M. J. Kaiser, Mr. K. Mould, Councillor R. L. Owen, Councillor W. T. Roberts.

203 TO RECEIVE MINUTES OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE HELD ON 9^TH MARCH 2007

RESOLVED

That the proceedings of the Joint Committee held on 9^th March 2007 be approved and signed as a correct record by the Chairman.

204 MATTERS ARISING

1. Windfarm Consultations

Dr. Lockwood advised Members that NPower Renewables would be commencing work on the Rhyl Flats wind farm within the next two months.

205 REPORT ON SCIENTIFIC AND BYELAWS MEETING HELD ON 20^TH APRIL 2007

1. Razor Fish Survey in Liverpool Bay

Members were advised that the trial dredging had not yet started. Agreement to the activity had been received from Natural England and an authorisation had been issued. It was expected that the survey would be carried out shortly.

2. Management of the Prawn Fishery in Wales

In response to a query as to a draft byelaw had yet been prepared, the Principal Fishery Officer advised Members that discussions were ongoing with this and a draft byelaw was not yet available.

RESOLVED

That the report of the Scientific and Byelaws meeting held on 20^th April 2007 be accepted and approved.

206 MUSSEL FISHERY LICENCES 2007/08 – BALLAST BANK

The Senior Scientist introduced the report informing Members of proposals for mussel fishing at Ballast Bank for the 2007/08 season. Last year 1,000 tonnes of seed mussels from Morecambe Bay had been relayed on Ballast Bank and it had been agreed that half the stock would be removed by dredging during the summer of 2007, with the remainder left to enhance the Ballast Bank fishery.

Members were reminded of the Committee’s present policy on the issue of licences, to offer these to existing licence holders who had paid the licence fee and submitted the relevant catch returns, with the licence being rescinded for non-compliance. Five licences had been issued for the 2006/07 season and all five licensees had complied with the terms of the licence. Only one person had fished during the season and complaints had been received that licences were presently being under-utilised

Mr. Cook informed Members that the total stock of mussels on Ballast Bank appeared to be greater this year than in recent years and Officers were recommending that the number of licences issued for 2007/08 should be increased from 5 to 10. Officers intended to carry out a survey later in the summer to ensure that the stock level could sustain that level of activity. It was further recommended that the licence fee be increased from £50 to £100 per season in order to discourage under-utilisation of licences.

RESOLVED

1. That the report be received.

2. That Officers be instructed to issue licences up to a maximum of 10, provided that stock levels are similar to the 2006/07 season.

3. That the licence fee for Ballast Bank be increased to £100 per season.

207 CONWY MUSSEL RESEEDING 2007/CONWY MUSSEL FISHERY ORDER LICENCES 2007/08

The Senior Scientist reported that out of 22 licences issued under the Conwy Mussel Fishery Order for 2006/07 only 16 remained at the end of the season. There were five persons on the waiting list and it was suggested that licences be offered to the existing licence holders and those on the waiting list, with the number being made up to 22 during the season if any further applications were received.

With respect to prospects for reseeding in 2007, Mr. Cook advised Members that reseeding by dredger had been carried out in previous years. 750 tonnes of Morecambe Bay mussels had been relayed onto the Conwy beds in 2006 but there had been a near total loss of those mussels. Officers would be conducting a survey of the beds in early June to assess the situation and ascertain whether relaying would be feasible this year.

RESOLVED

1. That the report be received.

2. That the number of licences for the 2007/08 season remains at 22.

208 COCKLE FISHERIES – END OF CLOSED SEASON

The Principal Fishery Officer reported on progressive plans to manage the potential high level of activity in the cockle fisheries on the expiry of the closed season on 31^st August. Officers would be meeting with the multi-agency groups in North Wales and Morecambe Bay in order to prepare similar plans for coverage of the opening of cockle beds on 1^st September to that formulated in 2006. Officers were requesting assistance from Cumbria SFC for the Fishery Officer for North Morecambe Bay.

Reference was made to the South Wales SFC and the Three Rivers fishery in that District. This year South Wales SFC was rigorously enforcing a stipulation that permit holders who did not submit relevant catch returns could jeopardise their chance of receiving a permit in future. This had resulted in a huge reduction in the numbers of those fishermen being allowed to participate in the fishery.

With reference to a question about die offs of cockles in the South Wales District, Mr. Cook said this could be caused by a number of factors. The South Wales SFC was trying to establish a proper scientific investigation into this in order to find out the cause of the problem.

RESOLVED

That the report be received.

209 SLIPPER LIMPETS (Crepidula fornicata) IN THE MENAI STRAIT

The Senior Scientist updated Members on the recent infestation of slipper limpets in the Menai Strait. The initial course of action to remove the limpets had been the removal and transportation of 1,000 tonnes of mussels from the area to Holland where the slipper limpet was already endemic. Following that action the Committee’s staff had participated in a survey of the area with CCW and it had been agreed that the next step should be to relay further mussels onto the area in an attempt to smother the remaining limpets.

A meeting had been held with CCW and other agencies and representatives of the mussel industry on 16^th May at which shortcomings in the legislation governing the movement of seed mussels had been highlighted. It had been agreed that a code of practice to prevent the introduction of alien species should be drawn up and agreed by the mussel industry and the relevant authorities.

In response to a question from Councillor R. L. Owen as to whether any prosecution would be taken in this matter, Members were advised that CCW were not intending to proceed with a criminal investigation at this time.

RESOLVED

That the report be received.

210 PROPOSED REGULATING AND SEVERAL ORDER FOR MORECAMBE BAY

The Senior Scientist introduced the report informing Members of progress with the proposed Morecambe Bay Regulating Order. The majority of landowners contacted had given their consent for the Fishery Order but the Crown Estates Commission had only given their conditional consent. DEFRA was unlikely to agree the application for a Fishery Order until the Crown Estates unconditional consent had been received and negotiations with the Crown Estates to resolve this issue were continuing.

Some discussion took place on the question of the Boughton Estates claim of fishery rights and enquiry about ground rent for the use of their land. The Committee had never acceded to their claim of fishery rights and Boughton Estate had yet to produce evidence of such. Members were advised there was provision in the Order for a landowner to take ground rent which had not been taken up. The Committee would be happy to talk with the landowners on this point and it would be unfortunate if such an issue was to prevent the Regulating Order going ahead.

It was likely that a Public Inquiry would be required for the new Order and advice had been sought from DEFRA as to whether the initial set up fees could be clawed back through future income from the Order. The Fishery Orders Development Officer and Senior Scientist would be meeting with DEFRA in a few weeks’ time and would raise the matter at that meeting. Mr. Houghton was exploring sources of external funding to meet the expenses of an Inquiry and was publicising the Order around Morecambe Bay with a series of talks, which had been well received. The draft management plan was being refined and it was hoped that a further draft would be available for submission to the next meeting of the Joint Committee for Members’ consideration.

In response to a question as to whether the Committee would seek to renew the existing Order or whether it would revert to a public fishery, Members were advised that the present Order was very simple and it would be relatively straightforward to renew if the new Order was not in place in time.

RESOLVED

1. That the report be received.

2. That Officers submit an application to DEFRA for a draft Order once the outstanding landowners’ consents other than the Crown Estate, have been received.

211 UK MARINE BILL WHITE PAPER CONSULTATION AND WELSH FISHERIES POLICY DEVELOPMENT.

The Chief Executive introduced the report, which presented the ASFC response to the UK Marine Bill consultation and provided an update on the development of fisheries policy in Wales. Dr. Atkins had taken Members’ comments from the Scientific and Byelaws meeting on 20^th April to the ASFC meeting on 2^nd May, which had been specifically dedicated to the development of a response to the Marine Bill. The general view of Officers was that the response fairly represented the comments that Members of this Committee wished to be included. If Members had any further comments they wished to be included, a separate response could be submitted to DEFRA.

Dr. Atkins took Members through the ASFC response at Annex A and in particular pointed out the comments on Marine Nature Conservation and Modernising Marine Fisheries Management sections. It was felt that some decisions would be needed from the Welsh Assembly Government before the situation in England could be resolved. With respect to the section on New Burdens, Officers were trying to work out the cost to Committees of the extra responsibilities and duties. There was a wide range of new powers which would have cost implications and it was hoped to submit a report on this to the next meeting of the Joint Committee.

Concerns were raised about the reduction in local authority membership of Committees and question of funding. On the question of funding Councillor Riley reiterated his comments from the April meeting of the Scientific and Byelaws that the figure quoted for new burdens on local authorities of £1.7M was totally inadequate and that all local authorities, whether having a coastline or not, should contribute to SFCs. Any proposal for a reduction in local authority membership would not be received well by local authorities who have been very supportive of the Committee in the past. This view was supported by all Members. Councillor Riley also reminded Members of the resolution from the Scientific and Byelaws meeting that the Committee should submit a supplementary response to the Marine Bill White Paper consultation if necessary.

Dr. Lockwood suggested that although representatives of statutory agencies should be members of the Committee this should be on an ex-officio basis without full voting rights, particularly when representation from contributing authorities was being reduced. This view was also supported by all Members.

In response to a question as to whether Councillor Members should canvass their MPs, Members were advised that Officers had an ongoing programme of discussions with MPs and AMs about the future of Committees in Wales, which had received support and interest in the work of the Committee.

With respect to fisheries policy in Wales, the Chief Executive advised Members that there had been a renewed level of activity to finalise the Welsh Fisheries Strategy. He would be attending a meeting of the Steering Group on 11^th June and it was likely that a further draft of the Strategy would be received from WAG within the next few days. No information was yet available on how Wales was going to take the Marine Bill forward and it was felt that the Committee should press WAG and Welsh MPs for definite decisions on this.

1. That the report be received.

2. The Members support the ASFC response at Annex A to the report in principle.

3. That the Chief Executive be directed to submit a further separate response to the Marine Bill White Paper consultation based on Members’ comments today.

4. That Members note the current position in Wales.

212 GALLOWS POINT MARINA PROPOSAL

The Chairman introduced the report providing an update on progress with the legal action arising from the proposed marina development. He reminded Members of the tabled correspondence in respect of this item and it was

RESOLVED

1. That the report be received.

2. That the Committee continues to resist the claim set out in Annex A, and

3. The Committee notes the summary Defence prepared by Council at Annex B and the implications in section 3 of the report.

213 REPORT ON SHELLFISH MANAGERS’ MEETING HELD ON 11^TH AND 12^TH APRIL 2007

The Principal Fishery Officer reported on the annual Shellfish Managers’ Meeting held in Poole on 11^th and 12^th April. Items discussed included the legal position from SAGB on Regulating Orders and seabed ownership; scalloping; shellfish diseases; Jersey’s successful gear tagging scheme and Cornwall’s ongoing research programme. South Wales SFC had given a presentation on the die offs of cockles in the Three Rivers fishery and their potential research into the cause of the problem.

Officers had found the meeting to be both interesting and informative. It provided a good opportunity to bring Committees and scientists from around the country together to discuss national issues.

RESOLVED

That the report be received.

214 STAFFING, TRAINING, HEALTH AND SAFETY

The Chief Executive reported on new legislation introduced in 2006 which permitted more flexible retirement options for public sector staff. Members were advised that the Clerk to the Committee had requested to continue to work full-time beyond normal retirement age and a request had been received from the Finance/Admin Officer for a reduction in his working week from 5 days to 4 days. Following consultation with the Chairman, both requests had been acceded to. Mrs. Kathryn Atkins was made, and had accepted, an offer to work for one day a week to undertake the duties of the Finance/Admin post on a job share basis with Mr. Davies.

RESOLVED

That the report be received.

215 STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31^ST MARCH 2007

The Chief Executive reported that following completion of a five year recovery programme it was pleasing to report that the budget for 2006/07 showed a significant surplus for the year. An independent Internal Audit of the accounts would be carried out on 2^nd July and it was hoped that an audited copy of the Annual Return would be completed for presentation to either the October 2007 or January 2008 meeting of the Joint Committee.

RESOLVED

1. That the report be received.

2. That Members approve the Statement of Accounts as at 31^st March 2007.

216 FINANCIAL REPORT AS AT 30^TH APRIL 2007

The Chief Executive introduced the report, which had been prepared to provide Members with an up to date summary of the Committee’s financial situation. It was pointed out that the Premises and Transport budget heads for the financial year 2007/08 were higher than predicted, due mainly to work required to both gearboxes on FPV ‘Aegis’ and the possible increase in rent required for alternative accommodation for the Lancaster office. All other figures for the first month of the new financial year were within budget.

RESOLVED

That the report be received.

217 ASSOCIATION OF SEA FISHERIES COMMITTEES – REPORT ON MEETING HELD ON 2^ND MAY 2007

The Chief Executive provided a verbal report on the meeting of the Association of SFCs held on 2^nd May 2007. That meeting had been wholly dedicated to discussion of the response to the Marine Bill White Paper consultation, as reported earlier on today’s Agenda.

RESOLVED

That the report be received.

218 PRINCIPAL FISHERY OFFICER’S REPORT

The Principal Fishery Officer reported on the sea fisheries of the District and work of the Committee for the period ending 30^th April 2007. The scallop fishery had attracted a high level of activity in Cardigan Bay. This activity had coincided with the time that FPV ‘Aegis’ was out of operation and contingency plans had been implemented to provide a degree of enforcement in the area. Joint patrols with South Wales SFC had been undertaken and the Royal Navy Fishery Protection Squadron had also assisted with monitoring the activity.

Members were reminded that the gearbox breakdown on ‘Aegis’ was the first major defect in 11 years of service. Problems had been experienced with the gearbox shortly after the annual refit and both the port and starboard gearboxes had to be sent away for servicing, the very difficult task of removing the gearboxes and preparing them for the journey to Nottingham for service having been carried out by the crew. Officers intended to carry out gearbox inspections every five years in future in order to extend Aegis’ operational life as long as possible. It was hoped that ‘Aegis’ would be ready to return to full service on 12^th June.

The Chairman said that the crew of Aegis’ should be commended for their continued excellent maintenance programme and it was

RESOLVED

That the report be received.

219 REPORTS BY REPRESENTATIVES

There being no further business the Chairman thanked Members for attending and declared the meeting closed at 1205 hours.

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