Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality

Anna Gelderd Excerpts

Wednesday 15th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Anna Gelderd (South East Cornwall) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr. Dowd, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) for securing this important debate.

South East Cornwall is known for its beautiful environment, both on land and at sea, which attracts millions of visitors every year. Yet we face a growing water quality crisis, which threatens our environment, public health, livelihoods and local biodiversity. South East Cornwall has been ranked 14th in the UK for the number of hours of sewage dumping in 2023. In Duloe, residents and the parish council have been instrumental in raising awareness. They came together to campaign against the high levels of sewage being dumped in the Looe river, and through their efforts achieved improvements in the river’s water quality.

Good water quality in our rivers, lakes and seas is vital to rural and coastal communities such as mine. Tourism is essential to Cornwall’s economy, but it relies on clean beaches and safe waters. Poor water quality deters visitors, which really impacts the small businesses that depend on them, as well as wild swimmers, some of whom have reported illness, including members of my own wild swimming group.

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

The hon. Lady talks about swimmers falling ill because of sewage dumping, and the same thing has happened to groups of teenagers in my constituency. The most recent issue with sewage dumping in my patch involved a flooded field, and I am grateful to all the constituents who sent me photos of the raw sewage in that field. I am sure the hon. Lady will agree that the Water (Special Measures) Bill is a real opportunity to move forward and tackle some of these issues, but does she also agree that we need to go even further, possibly by having a sewage tax—

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[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Order. Will people pay respect to the Chair’s decision? When I ask you to sit down, would you please do so? Thank you very much.

[Anna Gelderd]

Thank you, Mr Dowd, and I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention.

I thank Feargal Sharkey, who visited my constituency last summer, and I thank the Minister for all her work on this important topic. Feargal Sharkey met local residents with me and heard the strength of local feeling on this issue. Our fishing communities suffer from poor water quality, which can cause habitat degradation and put our commercial catches at risk. Research by the Marine Conservation Society and the University of Portsmouth has shown a worrying increase in chemicals such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in seaweed. PFAS, which are known as forever chemicals because of their highly persistent qualities, do not break down in our natural environment. They accumulate in the environment and in our food chain, impacting biodiversity and public health. This is a serious concern, and I look forward to working with the Minister to do more to address it.

Labour’s Water (Special Measures) Bill is a much-needed first step towards improving the accountability and performance of water companies, which is something I welcome and I congratulate the Minister on. It is time to ensure that water bosses can no longer sell us down the river. Customer service, environmental protection and investment in infrastructure must be prioritised over profit in relation to what is fundamentally a public asset.

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Peter Dowd (in the Chair)]

Order. I ask the hon. Gentleman not to intervene, because we are right up against it. Thank you.

[Anna Gelderd]

I know my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Noah Law) is an important champion for Cornwall as well.

South East Cornwall’s beautiful, natural environment is priceless, and I applaud the determination of my local residents to make a difference. We also have the national leadership that is so essential to tackle this crisis. The Government are already taking action to clean up the mess that we inherited, and we know that the Water (Special Measures) Bill is a vital first step to support constituencies such as mine, and local campaigners in them. I look forward to working with the Minister to restore water quality, protect our environment, improve public health and secure livelihoods in South East Cornwall.

Fishing Industry

Anna Gelderd Excerpts

Thursday 28th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Anna Gelderd (South East Cornwall) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing this important debate.

As the MP for South East Cornwall, I am proud to represent a constituency with a rich fishing heritage. Our iconic small-scale fishing fleets and charter vessels from Looe and Polperro, and from Fowey in the neighbouring constituency, are the lifeblood of our communities. That proud tradition, passed down through generations, ties our communities to the sea.

I pay tribute to those who support our brave fishers and their families, including the harbourmaster and port authorities, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, for which I had the privilege of working, the Seafarers’ Charity and the Fishermen’s Mission. If hon. Members have not bought their Christmas cards yet, I suggest supporting those fantastic charities, which do so much when things go wrong. I also pay tribute to Seafood Cornwall Training and especially to Clive Palfrey of Looe, who works tirelessly to raise safety standards and still makes time to helm the Looe lifeboat.

This Labour Government are rightly committed to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. Damaging practices have taken a significant toll on the marine environment, and urgent action is needed to secure the sustainability of our fishing industry and restore the health of the sea. Offshore wind is essential to achieving home-grown clean energy, but developments must be carefully sited to minimise disruption to ecosystems, sensitive habitats and our historic fishing grounds.

Marine spatial prioritisation provides a framework to balance those competing needs, but our fishers must be included in the decisions. I urge the Minister to ensure that consultations are held in local ports and are scheduled around tides so that fishers can attend without sacrificing a day’s income and do not miss the chance to be heard. That should be the norm rather than the exception. It is a simple ask, but it would mean so much to our fishers and, vitally, it would improve Government engagement.

Sustainable fisheries management is essential, and catch limits should be set using the latest scientific advice, but the UK currently lacks robust data on many commercial species. Does the Minister agree that it is essential to prioritise a road map to improve stock assessment and work with partners on shared stocks to secure sustainable management? Better monitoring and enforcement are vital to ensure compliance, but the issues with CatchApp and inshore vessel monitoring must be urgently addressed. Will the Minister seek assurances from the Marine Management Organisation that it will address them, ensure transparency and timelines on fixes, and adopt a pragmatic approach until the systems are fully operational?

Globally, management and enforcement around marine resources are often poor. Stronger labelling laws could block illegal, unreported and unregulated fish from entering UK markets and could protect our domestic fleets. I would be grateful if the Minister committed to a review of labelling laws, to protect not just the world’s oceans but our markets.

Locally, buying UK products helps to boost our fleets’ income. I pay tribute to fishmongers such as Pengelly’s of Looe, which does a great job of supporting its local fleet and offers an overnight service for those without a local shop. I also highlight the work of local Looe fishers Murray Collins, Dan Margetts and David Bond, who have a tuna tagging programme, and Dr Bryce Stewart and Dr Simon Thomas, who do pollack data gathering. I would welcome the Minister’s support in expanding fisheries science partnerships to fill knowledge gaps and secure robust data for all our commercial stocks.

I support a transition away from damaging practices that harm our future stocks, alongside advances in vessel safety and technology. Remote electronic monitoring is a cost-effective way to improve transparency, sustainability and data integrity while creating jobs. Better data means better management, which benefits everyone.

Fishing is central to the jobs, culture and identity of South East Cornwall, a region grappling with low income. Our fishers are ready to play their part in regenerating our seas, but they need a fair deal that respects their knowledge, safeguards their livelihood and protects the marine environment. I am proud that the Government are working with our fishers. I urge the Minister to continue working closely with fishers, scientists and all involved to secure a just and sustainable future for our seas.

Future of Fishing

Anna Gelderd Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Caroline Voaden]

I agree that we must do far more to protect the equally important shellfish industry. In my part of the world, we have a budding aquaculture industry of mussels and oysters. They are a good, healthy food, and they capture carbon and improve marine biodiversity. Again, however, the industry has been severely hampered by export red tape and cannot export easily to Europe. It could expand massively if it was given the support required.

On the point raised by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), the water classification rules in England differ from those in Northern Ireland. That was a purely political decision of the previous Government that has nothing to do with the health of the water, and I implore the Minister to look at that. If he would like to have a conversation with me about that, I would be very happy to do so.

Fishermen are the stewards of our marine ecosystem. They know better than anyone how important it is to preserve fish stocks, and the Government and scientists must work with them.

[Anna Gelderd (South East Cornwall) (Lab)]

This debate focuses on the future of fishing, but we also need fisheries that are fit for the future. Does the hon. Member agree that collaboration with our fishing communities, such as those in South East Cornwall, is essential to achieve our shared goals of fish stock recovery and safeguarding a sustainable future for our fishing industry?

[Caroline Voaden]

I absolutely agree that we need collaboration between science and the fishing industry to make sure that we have sustainable fishing stocks and a productive fishing industry that can survive.

The hon. Lady predicted the next part of my speech: the new Labour Government must increase funding for marine research and work with fishers to implement sustainable fishing measures. We need more selective gear, better bycatch policies and fair quotas based on scientific evidence. In the long term, we should aim for gold-plated sustainable fishing practices across the UK that reflect our commitment to environmental sustainability and our understanding that healthy fish stocks are the bedrock of the industry.