The Environment Agency is today introducing an emergency byelaw to protect salmon in the River Severn and its estuary, after a review of recent data showed a significant reduction in salmon stock levels in the Severn.

Under the emergency byelaw, which takes effect on 15 June 2019, draft net and putcher fishing in the Severn estuary will be prohibited. Lave net fishing will operate on a catch and release basis only.

The emergency byelaw will also make catch and release for rod and line fishing compulsory on the whole of the Severn for the remainder of the current rod season, which lasts until 7 October.

The move to protect this salmon population comes after figures on the stock levels for the Severn, Wye and Usk, which salmon from the Severn estuary migrate to, showed numbers were extremely low.

The decline in numbers means that every fish returned safely could contribute to improving the spawning population this autumn.

Reducing the taking of salmon is only one part of the Environment Agency’s larger national programme to protect salmon stocks.

Actions taken by the Environment Agency and its partners that contribute to protecting salmon stocks include removing barriers, improving water quality, minimising predation, implementing better agricultural practices and addressing unsustainable water abstractions.

The Environment Agency is taking these actions because of the need to protect salmon stocks that have declined to unsustainable population levels in many of our rivers. The decline in the numbers of wild salmon, seen not just in English rivers but throughout the North Atlantic, is of great concern and the Environment Agency is determined to protect the future of this important species.

David Hudson Environment Manager for Gloucestershire said:

This has not been an easy decision to take. We have looked at other options, such as reduced catch limits for both net and rod fishermen and voluntary catch and release for lave net and rod fishermen, but felt that stopping any salmon being taken on the Severn this season through a byelaw was necessary to protect salmon in the river.

Fishing is only one of a number of factors that have led to the fall in salmon stocks in the Severn; environmental factors at critical times in the salmon’s life cycle also play a part. We are particularly concerned this year about the effects of the very hot summer of 2018. We had hoped that the numbers would improve in the autumn but this hasn’t happened.

We understand the impact this will have on fishermen, but only by the use of immediate and robust action, with cooperation from others, can we prevent the collapse of salmon stocks in the Severn in the future.

We are liaising with our colleagues in Natural Resources Wales and Natural England and with those affected. We will continue to monitor fish stocks throughout the season in order to reach a decision about our next steps before the start of the 2020 season.

Cindy Butts, Ian Comfort, Johanna Higgins and Christine Anne Smith have been appointed for 3 years beginning 7 May 2019. The 3 year appointments of David Brown and Sukhvinder Kaur began on 16 May 2019.

Appointments to CCRC are made by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

Appointments and re-appointments to CCRC are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This appointment has been made in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Biographies

David Brown QFSM

David Brown is a magistrate in the criminal court and an Associate Inspector for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Fire & Rescue Services. David previously served as Assistant Commissioner and Director of Operations in the London Fire Brigade.

Cindy Butts

Cindy has over 20 years of experience improving access to justice and tackling inequality. She currently has a portfolio career which includes being a Lay Member of the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, a Lay Member of the Press Recognition Panel’s Nominations Committee and appoints judges on behalf of the Judicial Appointments Commission. Cindy previously served as a Commissioner at the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Prior to this she was the Deputy Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority where she had responsibility for setting the strategic direction of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Ian Comfort

Ian Comfort has worked at a senior level in education for many years. As a magistrate he has extensive experience as a presiding justice in adult and youth courts. His experience of a ‘portfolio’ career spans membership of the Investigating Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales, legal adviser and legal chair for the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service and panel chair for the Health and Care Professions Council Tribunal Service. As a charity trustee he chairs the Ebony Steelband Trust and Notting Hill Carnival.

Johanna Higgins

Johanna Higgins is a barrister of the Inner Temple, London and has also been called to the Bar in Northern Ireland and the Bar in Dublin. In private practice she dealt with a range of cases in all court tiers. She is a former Senior Public Prosecutor (Northern Ireland). She is now an Independent Adjudicator on several legal adjudication panels for the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, London. Johanna sits as a Member of the Civil Legal Services Appeal Panel, under the Department of Justice NI and is also a Board Member of the Historic Buildings Committee NI. She was elected as a member of the Royal Historical Society, London in 2018.

Sukhvinder Kaur

Sukhvinder Kaur is a currently Legally Qualified Chair of Police Misconduct Hearings for the MOD, BTP as well as the Metropolitan and City of London Forces. She is also employed as a government lawyer for over 20 years, working extensively in criminal law. In that capacity, she was also appointed as one of the first national Legal Registrars to the First Tier Mental Health Tribunal. Also facilitates training and mentors.

Christine Anne Smith QC

Christine Smith is a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland with substantial experience of criminal practice. She was Senior Counsel to the Inquiry into Historical Institutional Abuse 1922 to 1995. She is currently a member of the Senior Civil Panel of the Government Legal Service for Northern Ireland and of the Coroners’ Service for Northern Ireland counsel panel.

All the appointees have declared that they have not been involved in any political activity.

A yacht with three people on board has been safely rescued after they sent an EPIRB distress alert that was picked up by HM Coastguard.

HM Coastguard’s mission control centre (UK MCC) based at the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham, Hampshire, received the emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) alert just before 7.50am on 11 June 2019 from a vessel in the vicinity of Plymouth Sound and immediately contacted Falmouth coastguard, who coordinated the rescue.

Around the same time, Falmouth coastguard received a VHF call from a yacht but due to the weather conditions the communications were lost during the call. Working with UKMCC, Falmouth coastguard confirmed that the call came from the same vessel as the EPIRB alert.

RNLI Plymouth and Salcombe all-weather lifeboats and Newquay coastguard helicopter were sent to assist in the search and rescue mission. A Mayday relay broadcast was also sent to other vessels in the area requesting they offer assistance in locating the vessel.

Soon after the helicopter launched the UK MCC confirmed that the yacht was issuing a 121.5 MHz homing beacon, which allowed the helicopter to home in on the vessel’s location, just south of the Eddystone lighthouse.

Upon reaching the vessel in rough sea conditions, it was found in that it had suffered engine failure and the sails had blown through due to a squall. The helicopter winchman was lowered on to the deck of the vessel to check that all was well with the three people on board, and they were confirmed to be safe and well.

The RNLI Plymouth and Salcombe lifeboats remained on scene and established a tow with the vessel and towed it to Salcombe harbour.

Dai Jones, HM Coastguard duty controller, said: “This rescue mission demonstrated excellent coordination between the UK MCC and Falmouth coastguard, along with the helicopter and lifeboat crews.

The skipper of the vessel did the right thing in activating the homing beacon, which allowed us to quickly identify their location and send help.”

Cromer and Sheringham coastguard rescue teams were on scene on 12 June 2019 and have advised that the cliff fall will cause an impasse at high water so where walkers were once able to get through, they cannot now.

They also re-iterated HM Coastguard’s general cliff safety advice as it’s likely that other cliff falls may be possible around the UK after the recent intense rainfall.

Safety advice

‘We want people to enjoy themselves on the coast by making sure their visit is one to remember and not one they’d rather forget. It’s a well-known fact that the cliffs along the UK coastline are continually eroding, with pieces falling from them that can be just a few small rocks or as large as a car. It’s impossible to predict when the next piece might fall or how big it will be. Periods of intense rainfall followed by dryer warmer weather will often make cliff edges more vulnerable. We’ve seen a number of cliff collapses around the UK coastline in recent months. It’s very clear that cliffs are very unstable in places and we really can’t stress enough how important it is to keep back from the edge. There is no ‘safe’ place to be. Some of the cracks that have appeared have been several feet away from the edge. Don’t be tempted to go and investigate and don’t risk going to the edge to get a dramatic picture. One of our biggest problems is tackling the ‘selfie culture’ where people take risks to get a dramatic photograph of themselves on a dangerous cliff edge or during a tidal surge – no selfie or photograph is worth risking your life for. Remember to call 999 and ask for the coastguard if you see anyone in difficulty or get into trouble yourself.’

By following these few simple safety tips you can keep yourself out of harm’s way on the coast….

Make sure that you are properly equipped for walking along coastal paths. In particular remember to wear sturdy shoes or boots and check the weather forecast and tidal times before you set out. Carry a fully charged mobile phone, and tell someone where you are going and what time you will be home. Only use the designated paths, take notice of any warning signs and fences in place, be responsible and don’t take any unnecessary risks.

Try and keep your dog on a lead near cliffs. If they pick up the scent of an animal or hear something on the coast below it doesn’t take much for them to follow their nose. Above all, if your dog does fall down a cliff or starts getting swept out to sea, please do not attempt to rescue it yourself. Nine times out of ten your dog will rescue itself and return to shore alive, but tragically some owners do not. Our coastguards are trained in all types of rescue on the coast, including dog rescues.

Do not attempt to climb up or down cliffs unless you are properly equipped and trained to do so and do not attempt to climb cliffs as a short cut back to the top.

When standing at the bottom of a cliff, we would always advise people that they shouldn’t stand less than the height of the cliff away. That means that if the cliff is 25 metres high, don’t go closer than 25 metres towards it.