Sustainable Fisheries

Steve Double Excerpts

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

It is always a pleasure to visit my hon. Friend’s constituency, and he is absolutely right. We need to make sure that sustainability is at the heart of everything we do so that we make sure that future generations have the opportunity to enjoy healthy waters and the harvest they bring.

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

rose—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

And finally, with the prize for patience and perseverance, Steve Double.

[Steve Double]

Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker, and thank you for saving the best for last.

I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, which will be hugely welcomed by fishing communities across Cornwall, particularly in Mevagissey and Newquay in my constituency. Will he commit to ensuring that as this policy is developed, the voice of our fishermen is heard and considered loud and clear, and particularly that of the under-10 metre fleet? May I gently remind him of his offer to come and meet the fishermen in Mevagissey? I look forward to seeing him there soon.

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right—we do need to make sure that we continue to listen to representatives of the fishing industry, who played a big part in making sure that we got the White Paper to the position that it is in for publication today. I underline my gratitude to him for his invitation, which I am looking forward to taking up.

Finally, let me say that I am very grateful not just to hon. Members who have contributed so constructively to this exchange but, in particular, to the civil servants at DEFRA, who have done an outstanding job in preparing today’s White Paper. They do a superb job not just in making sure that the environment is at the heart of everything we do with regard to fisheries, but in supporting my hon. Friend the Fisheries Minister at every December Council. I am hugely grateful for the contribution that they make, as we all should be.