To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what progress is being made to create a mandatory license for the commercial extraction of shellfish from the Strangford Lough coastline.

Commercial fishing vessels operating in Strangford Lough must have a licence to fish commercially together and an additional restrictive Strangford permit for shellfish fishing using pots. This additional permit was introduced in 2014 and the shellfish species targeted using this method of fishing are velvet crab, brown crab, lobster and nephrops.

My Department has been developing potential regulatory options for intertidal gathering of shellfish species such as periwinkles. I am currently considering a proposal to introduce a registration system for intertidal shellfish harvesters who operate on a commercial basis.