Official Report: Minutes of Evidence

The Chairperson (Mr Butler): I welcome the following officials from the Department's marine and fisheries division: Mr Gareth Dillon, deputy director; and Mr Patrick Smith, policy officer for the sea fisheries policy branch. Thank you very much for your attendance. Feel free to brief the Committee.

Mr Gareth Dillon (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs): Good morning, everybody. The draft statutory rule (SR) to which the SL1 relates contains only a small number of provisions and amounts to a single page. The SL1 comprehensively sets out the Department's intention to make the Shellfish Gathering (Conservation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026.

By way of background context, the hand-gathering of shellfish in intertidal areas in Northern Ireland is currently unregulated, save for the Belfast Corporation Act (Northern Ireland) 1930, which specifically prohibits shellfish gathering along the shores of Belfast lough. In 2022, the Department consulted on the intertidal hand-gathering of shellfish in Northern Ireland. The consultation outlined a range of potential management measures designed to, among other things, protect shellfish stocks in the intertidal area from unsustainable exploitation.

The statutory rule will prohibit the taking of periwinkles by any means from intertidal areas in Northern Ireland from the beginning of January to the end of April each year. The policy objective of the regulations is to safeguard periwinkle stocks by prohibiting the taking of periwinkles during the peak spawning period each year. Other reasons for the management of the periwinkle fishery include the protection of sensitive habitats such as seagrass and mud flats; the protection of ecosystems from large-scale removal of a food source for dependent species such as seabirds; and the protection of other marine species such as seals that may be sensitive to disturbance caused by the regular presence of shellfish gatherers.

One of the questions in the 2022 consultation sought comments on a proposed closed season from January to April each year. Of the responses received, 86% supported that proposal. The SL1 outlines the first step in regulating the intertidal fishery by legislating for a closed season during the peak spawning period for periwinkles. Subject to the Committee's consideration of the SL1, the intention is to make the statutory rule early in the new year and for it to come into operation in late January or early February 2026.

I will pause there. I am happy to take any comments that the Committee has.

The Chairperson (Mr Butler): Brilliant. Thank you very much.

You piqued my interest. There were 86 positive responses to your consultation survey: how many negative responses were there?

Mr Dillon: It was 86%.

The Chairperson (Mr Butler): Eighty-six per cent were positive.

Whom will it impact on negatively? Is there an indigenous industry?

Mr Dillon: There is anecdotal evidence that there is some gathering of periwinkles. We believe that approximately 400 tons is gathered per year. Is that right, Patrick?

Mr Patrick Smith (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs): Yes. There were records of 400 tons being processed in one year recently. A conservative estimate is that the economic value is well north of £3 million.

Mr Dillon: We believe that the greatest market for that is export.

The Chairperson (Mr Butler): OK. The negative consultation responses amount to 14% at most. Is there likely to be any negative economic impact on any industry?

Mr Dillon: The greatest export market is France, and that is over the winter period, so, although it will have some impact, we do not believe that it will negatively impact on that aspect of the export market.

The Chairperson (Mr Butler): I note that there are no closed seasons for periwinkle harvesting in Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. It says in your brief that:

Part of the purpose of bringing the regulations through is to secure the species. If it is abundant, why is it necessary to take this action?

Mr Dillon: I appreciate the question. It is to ensure the fishery's long-term sustainability. The proposal comes in response to scientific evidence and recommendations from the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI).

The Chairperson (Mr Butler): You mentioned Belfast lough, which has been in the news recently with regard to pollution by NI Water in particular and other issues there. Is there any sign of that pollution having an impact on the periwinkle, or is the periwinkle useful in that space, for example as a natural filter? Do they play a part in our ecological cycle in Belfast lough?

Mr Smith: It is a good question. The science that AFBI produced relates solely to Strangford lough. The Act that Gareth talked about is an old 1930s local government Act that prevents hand-gathering on the shores of Belfast lough. We are not sure whether there would be any such impact on Belfast lough; the science behind the AFBI report was focused on inner Strangford lough.

The Chairperson (Mr Butler): OK. Are there any other species that the Department might seek to protect in this way, or are all other species already protected?

Mr Dillon: It is an unregulated industry. The Department is required to publish a hand-gathering of shellfish fisheries management plan (FMP) by December 2027. In addition to periwinkles, its scope could include native oysters, razor clams, blue mussels and cockles.

The Chairperson (Mr Butler): We have covered native oysters. There was a big story around how they were once so prevalent but are not now, which points to a need to manage such native species.

Thank you very much for those answers.

Mr McAleer: Thank you for the presentation. The ban in England is from 15 May to 15 September. Why are there different dates here?

Mr Dillon: To be honest, we are not aware of why those are the dates in England. We know that the ban in England relates to quite an old by-law. For the purpose of the draft regulations, AFBI identified the peak spawning period for NI.

Mr Smith: We did some follow-up on the closed period in England and why it differs, and, pursuant to the submission of the SL1, we have found out that the really old by-law in that Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) area in southern England is to be revoked.

Mr McAleer: There is no such ban in the South of Ireland. Are you aware of any plans for one there? Has the need for such a ban in the South of Ireland been identified?

Mr Smith: No. The proposal came out of the 2022 consultation on the hand-gathering of shellfish in Northern Ireland. Obviously, there is quite a lot of interest in it: there is the environmental side of things; the economic value of the periwinkle fishery; and the health and safety aspect. A number of proposed measures were consulted on, but this is the initial step that we are taking to have a closed season for periwinkles. We have the science to back that up, unlike in respect of the other stocks that the Chair mentioned. Gareth talked about the four additional species that may be in the proposed FMP, but we do not have the science for those yet. We will be looking at that.

Mr McAleer: Thank you very much.

Mr Blair: Thanks to you both for the information that you have provided. I say respectfully to those who wrote the 1930s Act — it is unlikely that they are still around — and to those who have clung to it that any ban on hand-gathering in Belfast lough has not been massively successful over the years. I can say, as someone who lives relatively locally, that there is ample local evidence that hand-gathering has continued at pace.

I assume that, among the 86% supportive responses to the public consultation, there was supportive input from the environmental and conservation lobby for the regulation, as it is envisaged. Can you confirm that? Can you also confirm that there is scientific and research data to back up the proposed dates for the closed season?

Mr Smith: The consultation in 2022 was pursuant to the AFBI report earlier that year. That report was on intertidal hand-gathering, and it focused on three sites in Strangford lough. Periwinkles are gathered mainly in Strangford lough and other parts of the County Down coast: Killough, St John's Point etc. There were 37 responses to the consultation, of which 86% were supportive of that closed period. The responses were from members of the public, landowners, shellfish gatherers, university scientists, environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) and local council representatives. That is a flavour of those who —.

Mr Blair: Those who were supportive.

Mr Smith: Well, of those who responded to the consultation, but, of those, the majority were supportive.

Mr Blair: The data to back it up is from the AFBI report.

Mr Smith: Yes.

Mr Blair: OK. Thank you.

Mr T Buchanan: My question was the same as Declan's — why our closed period is different from that in England — but it has been answered.

Ms Murphy: In the draft SR, there is mention of "Exemptions". In what circumstances would exemptions apply, if someone were to ask for one?

Mr Smith: Those exemptions are derived from section 14 of the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966. There is an exemption that allows the Department to grant permits for scientific purposes — propagation. Mr Blair will be familiar with that from his time there. The exemption is essentially in case AFBI wants to do some work on that fishery. That is just an example: AFBI could go in during that closed period, and we would grant it a section 14 permit if it requested one.

Ms Murphy: Thank you.

The Chairperson (Mr Butler): There are no further questions.

Gentlemen, thank you very much for your time today; it is greatly appreciated. We wish you a happy Christmas and safe journeys.