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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps through the World Trade Organisation to help restrict the size of the Chinese distant water fleet and its impact on fish stocks.

WTO Members reached a landmark agreement at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference to prohibit the most harmful fisheries subsidies contributing to Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fishing, the fishing of overfished stocks, and fishing on the high seas. Members also committed to continue negotiations on prohibiting subsidies contributing to overfishing and overcapacity. The agreement will help improve the health of global fish stocks and the sustainable blue economy. This is also the first WTO agreement specifically addressing environmental sustainability, hopefully setting a precedent for future agreements of this kind. All members, including China, are now in the process of ratifying the agreement.