Environment Act 2021 Targets
Lord Walker of Broxton Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Lord Walker of Broxton (Lab)
My Lords, I declare my interests as an ambassador for the Wildlife Trusts. Its analysis shows that ending bottom trawling in offshore marine protected areas would not only conserve and restore natural habitats but deliver up to £3.5 billion in net economic benefits. Can my noble friend the Minister confirm when the Government will implement the long-awaited ban so that these gains can be realised?
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
We are all aware of the damage that bottom trawling can do, which is why we are looking to improve the situation in our marine protected areas. We had a Question on this quite recently, when I mentioned that we are working with the MMO on this. We need to get a solution. It is a complex area. We need to balance fishing with protecting our environment. We are working actively with the MMO and hope to have some outcomes from that very shortly.