Fishing and Seafood Sector Strategy

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2026 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Stephen Morgan)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Roger.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) for securing this debate on issues of which he, as my ministerial predecessor, has huge knowledge and expertise. Coming from a coastal community and living in a city that looks to the sea for its livelihood, I am proud to represent the hard-working coastal communities that contribute so much to our nation’s prosperity.

Since my appointment, I have met many representatives of the fishing and seafood industry, from whom I have learned a huge amount. In Newlyn, Weymouth, Grimsby, Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Selsey, I have seen their pride and skill and heard about their work to put our wonderful seafood on our plates. From them I heard loud and clear that fishing is so much more than just another industry. We are an island nation and fishing has shaped the rhythms, ways of life and character of our coastal communities for generations. Traditions, knowledge and skills have been handed down through families. The best tribute I can pay to fishing’s rich heritage is to do my best to secure its future.

While I talk of fishing’s rich heritage, I must, as my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge eloquently did, convey the deep gratitude and respect I have for all those who work or have worked as fishermen. That includes the many who have sadly lost their lives bringing back our harvest of seafood. My sympathies also go to the families of the crew of the Kilda, who were rightly mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton).

The fishing community contends with tough and dangerous working conditions. I commend all efforts by the industry to improve safety, including by working with Seafish and with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, among other organisations. Last week, I visited the RNLI lifeboat station in Selsey and met the Fishermen’s Mission to hear about their work to save lives and to support the welfare of fishermen. I was struck by the deep connections between the fishing industry and both those organisations. That includes volunteer lifeboat crew, who are drawn from the community and are often fishermen themselves. I place on record my gratitude to all those who devote themselves to improving safety and to saving lives at sea.

I know my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge has taken a leading role in the development of the APPG on fisheries action plan for a thriving and sustainable UK fishing industry. As I said at the action plan’s recent launch, I very much welcome its publication and I have heard its call for a stronger strategic view of the fishing and seafood sector. I will soon be meeting representatives of the APPG, including my hon. Friend, to discuss its recommendations in greater detail.

Any future work to develop a strategy would, of course, need to recognise devolution, the diversity of the sector and the strong frameworks that are already in place. I will also be considering our long-term vision for the fishing and seafood industry further with the sector. As I said at the launch event, many of the APPG’s objectives align very closely with my own. Like the APPG, I want to see a thriving fishing industry that delivers thriving coastal communities, good jobs and better job security. To achieve that, we need environmentally sustainable stocks, a modern fleet, infrastructure and supply chains and above all, a motivated, skilled workforce.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the Minister for his helpful and positive responses to the questions we have asked. I am sure he will come on to this, but I gently remind him that, in Northern Ireland and Scotland, one of the problems for many of us is the crews and the workforce, as we raised in submissions to the former Minister. Can the Minister give me some assurance in relation to that?

[Stephen Morgan]

I thank the hon. Member for raising that issue. I look forward to seeing him next week to discuss the issues facing colleagues in Northern Ireland, alongside the processing organisation. Perhaps we could pick up that conversation then.

Taking action to deliver for the fishing and seafood industry is a priority for this Government. It involves acting to deliver and consider a number of action plan recommendations. To highlight just a few, they include delivering multi-annual funding. We are already doing that through the fisheries and seafood scheme, which also supports training towards accredited qualifications. We are also considering how the action plan’s four pillars can help us to guide policy, recognising that fishing is a vital food-producing sector that aligns well with existing work in DEFRA to build national food security. We could consider how to address capacity gaps in inshore fisheries management as well.

I can also point to a number of other achievements, including significant progress on the fisheries management plans and the recovery of bluefin tuna and bass. The benefits that those successes bring are evident to coastal communities and demonstrate that good fisheries management works. We have allocated unused authorisations with a focus on supporting young and new fishermen entering the industry, and we have produced our UK seafood careers road map. Since we opened the fisheries and seafood scheme, we have received over 600 applications worth £25 million. Some of that is being specifically targeted at small-scale coastal fleets, and we have made funding available for new engines and gearboxes, which will help improve fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, the £1.5 million annual seafood export package is helping seafood businesses reach new markets.

As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire (Mr MacDonald), said, our current focus is on this autumn’s negotiations for fishing opportunities for 2027, from which I will do my best to secure the best deal possible for UK fishermen. Many of those negotiations are challenging and full of trade-offs that need to be made.

[Douglas Lumsden]

In just 10 days’ time, the UK-EU summit is happening in Brussels. Can the Minister assure us that our fishing industry will not be sold down the river in those talks?

[Stephen Morgan]

I am coming on to the points that the hon. Member made, but my interest in the negotiations and the summit is to protect UK interests. That is the absolute priority of this Government.

I have spoken to the fishing industry to hear its priorities, and I have taken them into account when setting out our approach to the negotiations. From previous exchanges in the House and with Members, I am aware of concerns about the level of fishing in UK waters by Norwegian trawlers. That is reciprocal, and I know there are UK vessels that appreciate the arrangement’s flexibility. I heard about that when I met the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation in Fraserburgh in August, and stakeholders raised it again ahead of the negotiations with Norway. The negotiations began in October, and I will seek to get the best possible deal. There are also difficult discussions and decisions on balancing the long-term sustainability of northern shelf cod with providing for the needs of our coastal communities in 2027. Addressing that is a priority of mine in trilateral negotiations with the EU and Norway, and I have spoken about it with UK stakeholders in recent weeks. We will continue to engage closely with the fishing industry to identify the best ways forward.

Of course, to support healthy fish stocks, we must prioritise a healthy and productive marine environment, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) rightly raised, and I am working to balance the decisions on that with ensuring that the fishing industry remains sustainable. That includes marine protection, and I am mindful of the commitment to put in place stage 3 byelaws before the end of this year. Those byelaws would be substantial and could close 13% of English waters to bottom trawling. I do not want to place any unnecessary restrictions on industry, so given the potential impacts for the fishing industry, it is important that we take time to get this right.

We are also working at pace to finalise arrangements for a new SPS deal, which will make it easier and cheaper to export seafood to the EU. More details on that will follow shortly, as part of the EU-UK summit later this month. Work is continuing to deliver funding. Currently, that is through the fisheries and seafood scheme, but we are also shaping, with the industry and others, the longer-term delivery of the fishing and coastal growth fund.

On cost pressures and similar issues raised by Members, I recognise the genuine hardship that high, volatile fuel prices are causing, as well as the concerns about competition from EU vessels that may have benefited from temporary fuel-related support. There is support via the existing tax system, and we have recently announced funding for new, more efficient engines and gearboxes. I am listening to fishing communities to understand the pressures that they face, and I am looking at all options.

My hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Noah Law) made a number of helpful points. I recognise that access to the UK’s six to 12 nautical mile zone is an important issue for the inshore fleet, particularly where there are concerns about pressure from larger vessels due to EU activity. I heard that message loud and clear during my time in Penzance and Newlyn. My hon. Friend is right to raise those concerns, and I assure him that I will continue to have those discussions. Any new management measures would need to respect the UK’s international obligations and be evidence-based. I am very happy to meet him on those points.

[Luke Myer]

Will the Minister write to me with the Government’s reflections on the mass crustacean die-off that affected Teesside, following the publication of the report of the working group formed by local authorities in my region?

[Stephen Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend for his work on these important matters. I can go one better: I am very happy to meet him to discuss the issues in further detail.

On labour and workforce challenges, Members will recognise that immigration policy is for the Home Office to comment on. However, I can assure them that my Department and I are in regular conversation with our Home Office counterparts about the concerns of industry, and I will continue to raise those matters across Government.

On engaging with the fishing and seafood industry, my officials and I already engage extensively through hugely varied forums. We have a strong framework of engagement, as I set out in July in the Government’s response to the EFRA Committee’s April report. We can always do more, so I look forward to continuing to improve how the Department engages with stakeholders, including the fishing and seafood industry. I am currently looking to build on the visits I have undertaken in my first few months in post, to listen more to what fishermen have to say. I have a date in the diary to visit Shetland, and I am considering a number of other invitations to ports around the country.

I have heard the calls for a stronger strategic view of the fishing and seafood sector, and I will consider the case for a national strategy. I welcome the APPG’s action plan and its recommendations, some of which are already being delivered. I will also consider its wider findings and recommendations. In the meantime, my focus is on delivery for the fishing and seafood industry. I want the industry to thrive and to turn delivery into thriving communities, good jobs, better food security and a healthier marine environment. As I said at the start, the best tribute I can pay to the sector’s rich heritage is to do my very best to secure its future. I thank all Members for their contributions, and my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge for securing the debate.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the potential merits of a fishing and seafood sector strategy.