Clause 149
Marine and Coastal Access Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Huw Irranca-Davies (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Marine and Natural Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Ogmore, Labour)
I am pleased to say that that issue is currently the subject of live and constructive work with the Welsh Assembly Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and others. My hon. Friend will know that the Dee is managed by the Environment Agency acting as a sea fisheries committee. The agency also acts under a regulating order. The England and Wales boards split the Dee, so we are actively engaged on working with the WAG, DEFRA and others to ensure that fisheries management in the Dee is carried out in a joined-up way. We have not yet worked through all the details of how the Dee will be managed after the Bill has been passed, but that is being addressed with the Welsh Assembly Government as part of detailed implementation planning. We take on board my hon. Friend’s point and we want to ensure that the new regime works.