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Sea Fishing: White Fish

Volume 473: debated on Friday 14 March 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made a comparative assessment of the potential value of the recreational sea fishery for bass and the value of commercial landings of bass. (189945)

No. The potential value of recreational fishing for bass and the value of commercial landings of bass measure different things and therefore are not directly comparable. The potential value of recreational fishing for bass would include expenditure by anglers on items such as travel and accommodation, whereas the value of commercial landings of bass covers only the value of fish landed and does not take account of the economic contribution of related activity such as processing. However, in developing any management measures for stocks of interest to anglers, I would want to assess where possible the potential value of the measure to both recreational anglers and commercial fishermen.

I am currently consulting on a draft recreational sea angling strategy which considers a package of measures for the development of recreational sea fishing. The consultation closes on 31 March.