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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on implementing byelaws to ban bottom trawling in the 41 marine protected areas consulted on in June 2025.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) consulted last year on fisheries byelaws to restrict bottom trawling in a further 41 MPAs. These proposals covered 30,000 square kilometres or 13% of English waters. The MMO is carefully considering the very large number of responses received to the consultation, and decisions will be made in due course.