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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the economic impact of crustacean die-offs in the North East on (a) businesses and (b) the fishing industry in that region.

We have assessed the impacts of this incident, including a comparison with landing data from previous years and with other parts of the country, for affected species. The North East Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority stock monitoring report (September 2022) indicated that at a regional scale, landings in late 2021 were broadly in line with historic data, and a significant reduction in landings in October and November 2021 were not observed.

The stock monitoring report also found, as the 2022 season progressed, lobster landings at a regional level were in line with seasonal expectations.

The UK Government currently provides a range of support to the fishing industry in that region, through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS) and the £100 million UK Seafood Fund. Since opening in April 2021, FaSS has provided £2.2 million to seafood businesses in the North East and is open for applications now.