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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve the quality of shellfish harvesting waters.

Shellfish harvesting waters are included in protected areas within the Environment Agency’s River Basin Management Plans. They can be affected by a number of different microbial sources like sewage discharges and agricultural land run off.

The Government is prioritising action to improve the water quality of the largest shellfish waters in England by 2030. This will require action (improvement, prevention of deterioration or investigation) at 63 shellfish waters between 2025-2030.