Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what timeline the Government has agreed for ensuring that all offshore Marine Protected Areas designated for seabed features are fully protected from bottom trawling.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

We are aiming to have all Marine Protected Area seabed features in English offshore waters protected from damaging fishing activity by 2024. Byelaws for the first four sites were announced in April and a call for evidence relating to the next thirteen sites was launched on 14 May. This is further supported by the legally binding target under the Environment Act that we are proposing to set for marine protected areas.