Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Mary Creagh
Main Page: Mary Creagh (Labour - Coventry East)Department Debates - View all Mary Creagh's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(3 weeks, 6 days ago)
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Sarah Champion
I really welcome the statement and all the commitment that the Government are giving to nature. I know that the 30 by 30 plan is focused just on land, with the justification being that 40% of our waters are marine protected areas, but the Joint Nature Conservation Committee has said that less than 1% of our MPAs are assessed as being truly protected. Will the Minister please tell us when she will focus the next plan on marine protection, which one hopes would include a ban on bottom trawling?
Mary Creagh
The Water Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy), is only too happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss bottom trawling. I believe that about 32% of our waters are currently protected.
[Official Report, 13 July 2026; Vol. 789, c. 656.]
Written correction submitted by the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh):
Mary Creagh
The Water Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy), is only too happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss bottom trawling. I believe that about 40% of our waters are currently protected.