Allister expresses concern over decline in Maine fishery
19 August 2011
Local MLA and TUV Leader Jim Allister has expressed concern about the state of fishery stocks and the extent of pollution incidents affecting the River Maine system.
In a series of detailed Assembly questions Mr Allister has established that whereas there is yet no appropriate assessment tool to measure trout stocks, in regard to salmon in 2010 there was only 61% of the number of eggs required to sustain stocks at an acceptable level. Further, the annual fry index has been falling.
Commenting Mr Allister said,
“These worrying trends are related, I believe, to other information which I unearthed in other questions, namely the excessive number of pollution incidents and the introduction of a mere ‘on call’ bailiff service.
“In the last few years the department’s approach to monitoring through bailiffing has altered. Instead of proactive bailiffs turning up anywhere at any time, the system now operates mainly on a ‘on call’ system, meaning bailiffs respond to reports of illegal fishing activity etc. rather than constantly doing spot checks. At the same time pollution incidents are high, with 118 in the last 5 years. Yet, there have only been 3 concluded prosecutions and a mere £706 recovered from polluters.
“Herein, is an alarming mismatch between the scale of damage being caused and the level of retribution and recovery applied to the polluter. A fish kill costs huge damage; £706 isn’t even a drop in the ocean when it comes to recompense.
“I note the Minister in her reply expresses alarm at the disparity between the number of pollution incidents and the meagre recovery of costs. I trust these will not be mere passing words.
“The River Maine system is a wonderful natural asset enjoyed by many, not just fishermen. Yet, sadly, as a fishing facility it has been allowed to diminish, largely because of inadequate attention from DCAL, the bailiff system now in place and the failure to address the pollution incidents in a proportionate manner.
“I will continue to monitor the situation to see what improvements, if any, DCAL and the Environment Agency bring to their performance.”
*Please see details of Mr Jim Allister’s two questions to the DCAL Minister regarding the decline in the Maine Fishery:
AQW 1301/11-15
Mr Jim Allister (TUV - North Antrim):
To ask the Minister of the Environment, in relation to the Maine River system, to detail for each of the last five years (i) the number of illegal discharges; (ii) the number of successful prosecutions for illegal discharge and pollution offences; (iii) the total fines imposed and the total compensation orders; (iv) the number of consents under the Water Act 2003; and (v) the estimated cost of fish kills and pollution damage.
Answer Minister DCAL:
During the last five calendar years, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has recorded 118 polluting discharges in the Maine River Catchment.
Year High Medium Low Total
2006 0 9 17 26
2007 0 4 29 33
2008 0 4 14 18
2009 0 3 21 24
2010 0 4 13 17
(ii) During this period three pollution incidents within the Maine River catchment have resulted in successful prosecutions. One of these incidents occurred in 2008 and the other two in 2009. A further four prosecution cases are pending but have not yet been progressed to court.
(iii) For the 3 incidents which have resulted in prosecutions, the courts imposed fines totalling £3,000.
With regard to compensation orders, NIEA does not recover costs through compensation orders. The Agency issues formal requests for cost recovery in the form of an invoice to the polluter. During this period for the Maine River catchment, NIEA has successfully recovered costs from polluters in 3 instances totalling £706.99. Cost recovery is on-going, but not yet complete, in a further 7 cases.
(iv)The Water Act 2003 relates to England and Wales. The relevant Northern Ireland legislation under which consents are issued is the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.
The Table below sets out the number of discharge consents issued under the Water Order since 2006 in the Maine River catchment.
YEAR NUMBER OF CONSENTS ISSUED
2006 4
2007 14
2008 15
2009 0
The Department does not hold a record of the costs for habitat improvement or restocking costs following a fish kill, as these costs are normally recovered by the fishery owner. It is more common for work to be undertaken to improve the habitat for fish rather than restock with farmed fish which will dilute the genetic integrity of the native fish population. However, some fishery owners will farm wild fish for restocking purposes.
The figures confirm a large number of discharges, few prosecutions, limited recovery of costs and limited evidence of consequential costs and impact. I am to meet officials to interrogate the evidence and consider how to move forward.
QW 1304/11-15
Mr Jim Allister (TUV - North Antrim):
To ask the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) for her assessment of (a) the state of trout and salmon stocks in the River Maine system; (b) the adequacy of the safeguards which currently exist for the migratory run of salmon and trout; and (c) how the stock levels compare to the levels ten years ago; (ii) how many bailiffs are employed on the River Maine system; (iii) whether the bailiffs operate on a call-out system or on the basis of routine river inspections; and (iv) to compare the number of bailiffs currently employed to the number employed ten years ago and their modus operandi.
Answer Minister DCAL:
Work is in progress to develop appropriate assessment tools for trout and a report is expected in early 2012. The status of adult salmon stocks on the River Maine is measured against a specific conservation limit (CL) for the river. The CL for the River Maine is expressed as the number of eggs required to seed the available accessible habitat and the annual attainment against CL from 2005-10 is outlined in Table 1 below.
Table 1
Attainment of CL on the River Maine 2005-2010
Year: 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
% Attainment of CL 42 96 170 68 61
DCAL works within the guidelines specified under Section 17 of the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 to safeguard the migratory run of salmon and trout within the Department’s jurisdiction. In 2007 the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) took over the responsibility of investigating water pollution incidents and prosecuting offenders under the Water Order. DCAL works closely with the NIEA where a fish kill occurs as result of a pollution incident.
The River Maine has been surveyed annually at over 100 monitoring sites since 2002 and an annual index of recruitment has been generated to monitor trends in abundance over time. The annual fry index for the River Maine catchment is detailed in Table 2 below
Table 2
Annual Fry Index River Maine
No Fry 5 min:
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
4.38 9.27 5.17 5.00 3.08 3.59 5.65 4.68 3.41
Three DCAL Fishery Protection Officers (Bailiffs) work in the Northern Area which covers the River Maine system. Fishery Protection Officers operate an On Call system from June to December to respond to reports of illegal fishing activity in the DCAL operational area. In addition, planned patrols are carried out both during the week and at weekends to detect breaches of Fisheries Legislation on the River Maine.
The former Fisheries Conservancy Board (FCB) employed 12 Fishery Protection Officers ten years ago covering the North with the exception of the Foyle and Carlingford areas, which are under the jurisdiction of the Loughs Agency. The Fishery Protection Officers worked a rota basis of 6 hours per day for 6 days a week. The former FCB employed 2 Fishery Protection Officers on the River Maine area. DCAL have 3 Fishery Protection Officers appointed to the Northern Area which includes the River Maine catchment area.
