Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

My Lords, I thank the noble Earl and the noble Lord for their support for the amendment. The noble Lord, Lord Livsey, made some very important points. We are limiting references to smelt in the Bill to European smelt because of their different migratory habits. The European smelt is migratory and is, we think, properly included under the Environment Agency’s duties and responsibilities, while the sand smelt is an inshore marine fish. It does not occupy freshwater habitats in England and Wales and should therefore remain outside the Environment Agency’s remit. However, sand smelt can be found in freshwater habitats further south in Europe. Should the situation change in England and Wales, we could consider using the order-making power in Section 40A of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975, as inserted by Clause 211 of the Bill, to extend migratory freshwater fisheries legislation to sand smelt. It may also be worth pointing out that the smoult is a young salmon and is a completely different species from the smelt. I am sure that all noble Lords were aware of that. Amendment 121A agreed.