• The training consisted of different workstations providing an insight into various types of fisheries crime such as illegal use of nets and traps for taking fish
• This training was funded by fisheries licence income which the Environment Agency uses to support work to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries

The Environment Agency worked with the Angling Trust and held a training day for the Cumbria Police Rural Task Force to give an insight into the various types of fisheries crime to help reduce illegal fish activities in Cumbria.

The training, which was held at Clearwater Fishery, Carnforth and funded by fisheries licence income, involved practical workstations focussed on fisheries offences: theft of fishing rights, theft of fish, illegal use of gill nets and traps for taking freshwater fish and working closely with communities to benefit the rural environment. Other stations included sections on rod licence evasion and how it affects Fisheries, and an input from Angling Trust coaches was provided with brief 1:1 coaching for any Officers that wanted to experience angling and its positive wellbeing benefits.

Rod fishing licence income is vital to the work of the Environment Agency to maintain, improve and develop fisheries. Revenue generated from rod fishing licence sales is reinvested to benefit angling with work including tackling illegal fishing. Fishing without a licence is not only illegal, but also takes away income that would otherwise be invested into the local fisheries and angling communities.

Damien Linney, Fisheries Enforcement Officer at the Environment Agency, said:

“Responsible fishing provides a great opportunity to connect with nature and feel the range of benefits doing so can bring. However it is important to remember you must have a valid rod licence and adhere to fishing bylaws and fishery rules.

“Fishing with illegal methods poses a risk to fish stocks, including already vulnerable stocks of salmon and eel, and other wildlife. It also undermines all the investment the Environment Agency makes using rod licence income and work by our partners in improving fisheries.”

Dave Lees, Angling Trust Northwest Region Enforcement Support Manager, said:

“Most Police Officers are non-anglers and are at a disadvantage when trying to understand angling, the relevant law and, the numerous poaching methods used to take fish illegally.

“This practical, very hands on training, in small groups, provides that understanding and develops key contacts and support, which moving forward develops joint working relationships between all parties involved. It encourages joint enforcement patrols between the agencies and provides the angling community with a better service.”

A police spokesperson for Cumbria Police said:

“We are extremely grateful to the Environment Agency and Angling Trust for providing this training to our officers.

“We’d also like to thank Clearwater Fisheries for allowing us to use their facilities for the day to allow officer to be involved in practical workstations.

“Illegal fishing is an ongoing issue and we will continue to work in partnership to prevent poaching and, to protect fish, the fishing industry and the environment.”

The findings from Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI, covering 19 October to 5 November 2021 (round 15 of the study), show prevalence of coronavirus (COVID-19) infections now stands at 1.57%, meaning that around 1 in 64 people is infected with the virus.

This is a fall in infection rates since the publication of an interim report covering 19 to 29 October 2021, which showed prevalence of COVID-19 infections had increased to 1.72 per cent, or around 1 in 58 people overall.

Over the last 3 reports, it was found that those between the ages of 12 to 17 who had a single dose of vaccine were 56% less likely to develop infection than those unvaccinated.

People who have received a booster or third shot are on average around two-thirds less likely to be infected compared to those who have had 2 doses of vaccine. Previous REACT reports have shown that 2 doses reduce infection rates by 60%.

Over 100,000 volunteers in England took part in the study to examine the levels of COVID-19 in the general population between 19 October and 5 November. 

Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said:

This round of REACT provides another reminder of the effectiveness of the vaccines against COVID-19. As we approach winter, it is vital that everyone eligible comes forward for their jabs – whether that’s their first dose, second or a booster.

Remember that anyone over 12 years old is now able to receive their first jab, and boosters will soon be offered to everyone over 40. Please do take up that offer to ensure your immunity does not wane.

Nearly 12% of the sequenced positive samples were Delta sublineage AY.4.2., which UKHSA has classified as a Variant Under Investigation (VUI). UKHSA continues to monitor the spread of this variant and investigate the factors underlying its growing prevalence.

The main findings from the report are as follows.

There were 1,399 positives from 100,112 swabs, giving a weighted prevalence of 1.57%.

The current prevalence is close to being two-fold higher than prevalence in the previous full round 14 (9 to 27 Sept 2021), which was 0.83%.

Within the latest round 15, there was a fall in prevalence, with the reproduction rate of the virus (‘R’) estimated at 0.76.

The highest prevalence was found in the South West at 1.97%, increasing almost three-fold from round 14. Round 15 showed an increase in rates over round 14 in most regions.

Highest prevalence was observed in those aged 13 to 17 years at 5.21% and those aged 5 to 12 years at 4.95%.

For those aged 65 to 74 years, prevalence was 0.84%. At 75 years and over it was 0.63% – both representing increases of approximately two-fold from the previous round 14.

To date, 841 positive samples have been sequenced, all of which were Delta variant. Of these, 99 (11.8%) were the AY.4.2 Delta sublineage, which has been classified by UKHSA as a VUI.

In rounds 13 to 15, children (ages 12 to 17) were 56% less likely to develop infection compared to an unvaccinated child, rising to 67.5% for symptomatic infection.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT programme from Imperial’s School of Public Health, said:

Although hospitalisations and deaths remain lower than previous peaks, the data shows that infections across the country remain very high. A higher rate of prevalence was recorded at most ages and most regions of the country compared to data from a month earlier, most notably in school-aged children.

The rate of prevalence has steadily declined throughout round 15 reporting, but an overall figure of 1.57 per cent is still nearly two-fold higher than that recorded in the previous round.

It is possible that the prevalence rate could rise once again now that children have returned to school following half-term, though this could be at least partially offset by as many people as possible having booster jabs when offered and those aged 12 years or over having the vaccine.

Kelly Beaver, CEO at Ipsos MORI, said:

The high prevalence found in this round of REACT reminds us all of the importance of remaining vigilant, while the data on booster jabs is an important reminder to everyone to get their booster jab when it’s made available to them to ensure the best protection against COVID-19.

The REACT-1 study was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care and is carried out by a world-class team of scientists, clinicians and researchers at Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Ipsos MORI.

UKHSA estimates that the vaccination programme in England has prevented hundreds of thousands of hospitalisations and deaths. It is easier than ever to get vaccinated, and the vaccination programme has been successful in weakening the link between infection, hospitalisation and deaths.

Thank you for your inspiring and honest words this morning. Let us hope that your presence – as it did in Glasgow – will, along with Ambassador Peralta’s now celebrated magic act, produce a rabbit out of the hat. Or perhaps some other creature since Jaime has already produced a rabbit. Because right now this isn’t about a glass half full. It’s far more worrying than that.

Let’s start with the positives. They are few but they are important. And they are the JSIs. The domestic services regulation – which could cut 6 to 7% off the costs of the global services trade, which as you said, is so vital to global trade. And I particularly welcome the ground-breaking provisions on gender. Let me also welcome the Joint Ministerial declarations on Trade and Gender and MSMEs and encourage the greatest possible number of signatories from fellow members. And we are making good progress on e-commerce and investment facilitation – and by the way I can’t imagine something more likely to expose this organisation to the ridicule of global business than the suggestion that we might not renew the e-commerce moratorium.

I wish that we were making similar progress multilaterally for all the reasons you cite. And let me pay tribute to the efforts of our colleagues leading and helping out on those negotiations. As others, we simply can’t duck two of the biggest challenges of or time: our response to the pandemic and our response to the climate crisis. We have been and will continue to be realistic – but we are not going to give up on our conviction that this organisation can and must contribute to these issues of the global commons.

On trade and health, simply repeating pre-existing rules and pre-existing commitment doesn’t cut the mustard. Nor does insisting on ripping up the IP framework that has enabled our response to the pandemic, rather than focusing on what will actually hasten the distribution of vaccines. On climate, days after the Glasgow Climate Pact, we simply cannot fail to recognise the role that this organisation needs to play in the transition to net zero/a greener global economy. Like you, I simply can’t understand why we can’t reach agreement on services language. And almost nobody would understand if we weren’t able to sustain our oceans and the communities who depend on them after 20 years of negotiation.

Madame Chair. With apologies to my US colleagues, let this be the city that never sleeps. At least for the next week. My delegation, like so many others here, will be working over this weekend and the days ahead to demonstrate that this organisation still does matter, that we can strike deals that matter to our citizens and to our businesses, even where that means moving forward plurilaterally, rather than multilaterally, and that our ministers will return from Geneva with something more than some of the world’s finest chocolate. You and the chair of the General Council have our support in that noble endeavour.